Madness
by Mango Marbles
Summary: He was mad. She knew he was, but she didn't realize that she may be just as mad. Because, in this world, it's hard not to be. Eventual Lightning x Noctis
1. Chapter 1

Here is my next story. There will be multiple points of view this time and Serah will not be crazy. Maybe she'll redeem herself, who knows? Enjoy. I don't own Final Fantasy.

* * *

"Guardian Corps is still searching for Sergeant Claire Farron. She was listed M.I.A. almost two months ago following an incident in an abandoned warehouse. The Guardian Corps has confirmed that the warehouse had been used by The Prince and have connected the disappearance of Sergeant Farron to the Prince's criminal gang. Anyone with information regarding Sergeant Farron or The Prince is asked to call the number at the bottom of the screen."

"It's truly a shame that another soldier has fallen to that twisted man, isn't it Maple?" asked the news anchor in his deep voice.

"It sure is, Cid," replied the female news anchor, who had read the announcement. While her voice had some semblance of sorrow, it was obvious to be faked as her chipper demeanor quickly returned as the show carried on.

"In other news-" was all the news anchor, named Cid, had time to say before the television was promptly shut off and the screen faded to black.

In the softly lit room, on the large, white couch, a petite girl was enveloped in the arms of a behemoth of a man. He rocked the girl, who was, at this point, sobbing quite uncontrollably, back and forth. She heard him mumble promises and comforting words, but deep inside, she felt that he would not be able to hold true to those promises.

"We'll find Claire," he whispered. Or tried to whisper, he was never good at being quiet. The memories of his reckless attitude almost brought a smile to the girl's face. Almost. The moment of peace was swiftly swept away by reality, and reality swept away by memories.

* * *

_Two months earlier…_

While Serah was hanging around Lebreau's bar with most members of NORA, Claire was out patrolling through their home town of Eden. Patrons laughed and loudly talked to on another. Some hit on anything that was alive, others appeared to be drowning their sorrows. The scent of alcohol was so strong in the room that Serah was afraid she'd get drunk purely from that. An off-duty soldier sat in the bar enjoying his drink, until his radio went off loud enough for those sober in the bar to hear its message clearly. The Prince's hideout was found and the soldiers on duty needed back-up. He rushed out of the bar.

The members of NORA didn't need to think twice before rushing out of the bar to follow the soldier, grabbing their weapons. Lebreau stayed behind to serve her customers. Serah gripped her bow tightly in her hands, quiver over her shoulder. The arrows fought over the open space in the quiver while she ran.

They arrived at a warehouse, where a vicious battle was already waging. Bullets were being fired and the clang of metal against metal burned itself to the memories of all present. Upon arrival, Serah dropped to one knee and shot an arrow at The Prince's blonde haired friend who wielding a shotgun. While he was surprised at the sudden attack, he managed to move enough so the arrow didn't hit anywhere fatal, it merely grazed his left arm instead. As he was about to aim at Serah, he was interrupted by a small explosion in the warehouse.

In the smoke and fire, Serah saw a familiar silhouette. "Claire!" she cried out in desperation while running towards the now burning building.

It seemed that Claire had heard her as she turned towards Serah for a moment. It was a mistake for Serah to call out, she realized too late though. The Prince took the moment of distraction to appear behind Claire, his normally dark hair momentarily white due to the teleportation. His red eyes glowed in the fire and a smirk plastered itself on his face.

Another explosion went off in the warehouse and the frail building collapsed. Serah ran towards the burning, only to be held back by Snow's strong arms. "Claire! Claire!" she wailed as she struggled, but Snow's grip proved stronger and she was trapped.

"I'm so sorry, Serah," the large man said to his flailing fiancée. The smoke from the building filled the air. Serah didn't really notice, her eyes already stung and she couldn't breathe anymore anyway. _Claire!_ She still cried in her mind that one word.

The Guardian Corps searched through the rubble, but only found a black rose, The Prince's signature mark. There was no sign of Claire Farron, not even a corpse.

Serah held on to that fact to hope that her big sister is still alive. After searching through the rubble, that she really wasn't allowed to be near, Serah found no sign that her sister was dead. It brought peace for a moment, before a different thought crossed her mind. Where did she go?

* * *

_Still two months earlier..._

The chains clinked and clanked as she struggle to move around. Her body gave out rather quickly each time she tried to move. She still had burns and gashes, not life threatening, but extremely inconvenient.

She was in a stone room, but why?

_Kidnapped._ Warehouse, fire, The Prince. Everything ran through her head. She was alive, so there must be a reason that they wanted her. Or maybe The Prince just wanted to be nice for once?

She chuckled at her own foolishness. _I can't even pretend that's an option._

The Prince and his little criminal group have never taken survivors. His head had a high bounty on it, so did the others, but no one really paid attention to them when _he_ was around. Then, why did they want Claire? What could they gain from her? Information, sure, but they would have wanted an officer instead.

She heard footsteps approaching. Within moments, The Prince entered her makeshift cell from the door she couldn't reach with the chains attached to her wrists and ankles. She had to try to keep an emotionless expression, and with how much disgust she felt in this man's presence, it was a difficult thing to do.

"Snack time, Sarge," he said. His voice was smooth and silky, refreshing almost. But she wouldn't let those thoughts cloud her mind. _Remember who the voice belongs to._

"Trying to fatten me up before the slaughter?" she asked in an emotionless tone.

The Prince frowned, he looked innocent when his eyes were dark blue instead of burning crimson. "Do you really think so lowly of me? You are a guest, love."

His playful tone dropped into a serious one as he set a tray of bland food in front of the pink haired woman. "Enjoy my hospitality, not many people get the chance."

"Bullshit," she retorted. "Just tell me why you're keeping me here."

"You have information."

"You could have taken an officer."

"You don't miss anything, do you?" he asked, obviously annoyed by that fact.

Claire didn't respond, but she did feel accomplishment for annoying the feared man.

"You'll be joining us," he stated. It wasn't a question of whether or not she wanted to, she was being demanded to join their group.

"What makes you think that, Princess?" she knew she probably shouldn't talk back, but his attitude was bothering her. She would die before she joined them.

His eyes quickly became crimson as he kneeled beside her, gripping her chin with his hand and forcing her to look at him. He leaned in closer to her, she could feel his breath on her skin. "Because you are the same as us," he whispered.

"You must be mistaken." What could he know about her? She's never murdered anyone, she's never stolen anything, or committed any other crime. She had always been protecting people. She had always been Serah's shield from danger, before Snow, at least.

The Prince simply stood up and walked to the door, but before he left into the bright hallway, he glanced back at the girl on the floor.

His words sent chills down her spine and caused her stomach to drop, but she wouldn't show it. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

"I am never mistaken."

He was about to step into the hallway, but stopped himself once again. He turned to face her with a smirk that she would have loved to punch off of his face. "And do make sure you eat. There's no use in starving yourself. We have ways to make you co-operate."

_Do your worst, Princess._

* * *

A/N: Continue? Leave a review or PM me if you have a name for the little criminal group that you'd like me to use. Any that I thought of were just cheesy. Leave a review even if you don't have a name suggestion!


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Final Fantasy.

~~~Space~~~

"Curse that woman. We've lost two months because of her," two hands slammed down on the table and caused the room's two other occupants to jump at the sudden outburst.

"She had better be worth it," he said, glaring at a blonde man. "Or you will be dead. No, not dead. That would be far too gracious of me. I'll have you hanging upside-down over water. You'll wish you could drown yourself, but the water won't be close enough. You'll have no choice but to survive."

The blonde man shifted uncomfortably in his seat and gulped. Reaching to his side, he grasped the hand of a large man with brown hair that was slicked back. He was not happy with the blonde man's action and swiftly removed the hand. "What the hell, Prompto?"

"C'mon, Gladiolus, help me out here," pleaded Prompto, who shook under The Prince's glare.

"You got yourself into this shit, you can get yourself out," sighed Gladiolus. The Prince watched them with a calculating glare. They entertained him, a little bit. The past two months had been a living hell, thanks to their little sergeant. It was nice to have some distraction, now that she had been… convinced.

~~~Space~~~

_One month ago…_

She panted. He heard each breath she took, every ragged breath. Obviously, she was in pain. Of course she was, nobody went through _his_ torture unscratched. The sounds she had made, he relished them. There was blood on her, some fresh, some dried. Her clothes were torn and she looked awful. But that determination never left her eyes, and he liked that.

"Give," she panted. "It up…"

But her stubbornness, how he hated it. Everyday, it was the same, torture the pink haired soldier and gain nothing. He pinched the bridge of his nose, and even with his eyes close, knew she was attempting to smirk. _Great, another headache._

With a sigh, he settled his hands in his pockets. Looking at the girl's smirk infuriated him. She thought she won, he could see it in her eyes. "I didn't want it to come to this," he started, being sure to keep a bored tone in his voice. "But I have to other choice."

Her smirk faltered. He allowed a smirk to grace his face, his lovely face. _Someone should add a mirror in here._

Gently, he brushed some stray hairs from Claire's face. He could see her anger in her eyes. Such a fiery spirit, he liked that. "You see, if you don't cooperate, we'll simply kill your sister and that man of her's."

Noctis tapped his finger against his chin. "Maybe we'll even tie her up and kill that man in front of her. Then, kill you in front of her. Let her think it over. 'Could I have saved them?' she'll wonder. But the answer will be 'no'. Only her big sister Claire could have prevented that tragedy," he grinned at Claire. "How's that sound?"

"How do you know about my family?" she said through grit teeth.

"We make sure to do our research," it wasn't like she needed to know. She merely wanted to. He knew what she needed to know, not the other way around.

After that encounter, it hadn't taken long for her to agree. They allowed her time for her wounds to heal and went through their next plan, the first plan that Claire would play a large roll in.

~~~Space~~~

_Present day…_

"Enough," stated Noctis. Prompto and Gladiolus immediately stopped bickering and gave Noctis their full attention.

"That's better," Noctis assumed a more relaxed position. "Now Prompto, what is it that makes her like us? What is her ability?"

Noctis had gathered a group of misfits and named them "Nightingales". Like birds, they could be free from the normal. These misfits each had special powers, magic that could be used without a mana-drive. Their natural abilities varied greatly, like the color of a bird's feathers, but they were different from the majority and therefore hated. Noctis wanted to crush everyone who hated them unjustly.

"Honestly, I don't know," replied the blonde man. "But there's some strange power locked away in her. Even Yeul agrees!"

"She hasn't awoken it yet?" asked a bemused Noctis. "How has she not? The others had all awakened their powers when they were children."

He remembered when his power was awakened. After he had taken everything they dealed to him, he snapped. He was just a kid, but he looks at the memory with fondness. On that day, the way everyone saw him changed. No longer did he have to blend in and fight for attention. It was freely given to him.

"Maybe she lets it lay dormant?" suggested Gladiolus.

"That'd be an idiotic thing to do. With power like ours, why would she keep it hidden?" Noctis was baffled by the very thought. Without his powers, he was…What was he?

Without their powers, they were the same as everyone else. There would be no reason for them to stand out, they wouldn't be able to do what they do. His head wouldn't have such a big bounty and he wouldn't have the family he does today.

"Maybe she discovered it by accident and did something terrible? Prompto suggested.

Noctis nodded to himself. The idea was valid, and he knew that the situation was the same for Prompto. He had been so terrified of his powers that he hid them for years. Only when he joined the Nightingales did he finally accept them. But Noctis still wondered, why was the blonde man so afraid of his own powers?

"Yeul," said Noctis in a semi-loud voice.

In moments, the once elegant room the trio was in filled with wind. On the wind, petals fluttered all around the room. Floral fragrances filled the air. A particularly thick swirl of petals blew away to reveal a small girl with cobalt hair and piercing eyes. Her voice was quiet, even, and cold, "You called?"

Noctis put a hand on the girl's head and ruffled her hair. She showed no emotion at the gesture. "Would you mind seeing why our guest seems to have locked away her power? After all, she will be your new guardian so it's best you get to know each other."

He noticed how dark Yeul's eyes became at the mention of a new guardian. Of course she would, the man whom she saw as a father abandoned her. Trying to give her a reassuring smile, which he was certain looked more like a grimace, he nodded and sent her on her way. She disappeared in petals, the same way she had appeared.

~~~Space~~~

She no longer had any sense of time. In this cell, only darkness prevailed. She had agreed to join them, as if she had a choice. Yet they still kept her in this forsaken cell. Why?

Insanity was taking her over, she could feel it. Creaking, the door to her little cell opened and in walked… Serah?

Claire rubbed her eyes and looked again. No, it wasn't Serah. It was a different girl with long cobalt hair and cold green eyes. The second that Claire's eyes met the gaze of the only eyes that could send a chill down her spine, the world around her turned into a vibrant forest. "What's going on?" demanded Claire.

"Remember your power. What happened to it? Show me," the girl spoke in a quiet voice that Claire heard no emotion in.

Much to her horror, the world around her started to change once again. The sky darkened and her team appeared around her, all looking tired. She found monsters prowling around them. Remembering this place instilled dread inside her. Moving of its own accord, her body repeating the actions of that night. The night she became a monster.

~~~*~~~ Prompto's Adventures ~~~*~~~

By now, everyone knew of their prisoner. Prompto had spent time spying on her to gauge her ability. Ever since she had been taken captive, Noctis had been in a foul mood. Often he would complain about the "pink-haired menace". Snickering while he made his way down the steps to the basement, Prompto made his way by using his powers as night vision to the sergeant's makeshift cell.

When he opened the door, he found his target curled up on the ground, asleep. _Awwww._

Carefully, he approached the woman. He reached out a hand and touched her pink hair. From what he could tell, it was indeed her natural color.

She opened her eyes and slapped his hand away. "Damn it, Snow. You have thirty seconds to leave before I throw you out the window," she mumbled half awake.

_Who's Snow?_ wondered a confused Prompto. Shrugging it off, Prompto imitated what he imagined this Snow would sound like. "You can't hurt me," he started. "In dreams, you can't hurt anyone."

Hearing no response, Prompto was happy. He rubbed his hands together before he started to twist and braid the woman's hair into an elaborate design. He had become so accustomed to using his powers that he didn't have to concentrate on them. Not like he had to when he first discovered them.

It took him awhile, but he didn't mind. In the end, he was proud of his work. The woman's exotic hair was now in an equally exotic design. Stifling his laughs, he left the cell and went back to his bedroom. He fell asleep to the thoughts of Noctis's reaction when he sees the lovely woman's new hairstyle. Priceless.

~~~Space~~~

A/N: I've noticed that the lines are a bit light, so I've changed them. Please review, it means a lot to me! And thank you to Gundam requiem for the gang's name of Nightingales!


	3. Chapter 3

_What happened to it? Show me._

The strange girl's words echoed in Claire's mind until they were drowned out by yells. Her team was yelling out commands, or yelling in pain.

Overhead loomed a dark sky. A storm was coming, and it looked to be a nasty one. Serah would probably be cuddling a pillow while huddled in blankets, if she's not with Snow, that is. Claire hoped to be able to go home before the storm reached them, but it looked like that wouldn't be happening.

Panting surrounded her as the other soldiers tried to catch their breath. She was out of breath herself. There was only one behemoth left to kill, but the other monsters that came before it had used up most of the team's strength. "Farron, make yourself useful!"

Claire grit her teeth at the sound of her squad leader's voice. He had never liked her and she wasn't too fond of him. Stories about him had been passed through the Guardian Corps ranks. Apparently, he just didn't like women in general.

Inside of her, something snapped. She felt warmth encase her body. With a cry of frustration towards herself, her team, and her squad leader, she relinquished the power she felt inside her. "The storm is here!" she cried, as the storm had finally arrived and lightning struck around her. Thunder boomed, adding its addition to the song of chaos taking place.

In moments, it was all over. The thick scent of static surrounded her. In her blind rage, Claire couldn't recognize the difference between her team and her enemy. On her sword, was their blood. Their bodies littered the ground, just like the behemoth, charred beyond recognition. It was everywhere and its metallic scent was suffocating her. She coughed and coughed. Falling to her knees, she continued to cough. Was there any _air_ left here? The scent of static, burning flesh, and blood was far too thick.

_It's enough._ Came the voice of the little girl she had seen before. Blinking, Claire watched as the landscape of her nightmares faded to her cell.

~~~Space~~~

For Claire, or as she was nicknamed by the Nightingales, Lightning, the next month was hell. Each day she was drilled and trained in order to use her powers properly. The last day before their plan was set in motion, Lightning had the… _pleasure_ of dueling The Prince, whom she now knew by the name Noctis.

He simply stood in one place and had his swords do all of the work. All over her were cuts and bruises from her training sessions. They made sure they wouldn't kill her, though. They've gone through too much trouble to retrieve her for her to die.

"Enough," boomed Noctis voice. Lightning immediately stopped just as his swords faded from existence. She was exhausted and dropped to the ground, trying to catch her breath. Noctis approached her and took a seat on the ground beside her.

"Do not bandage any wounds you have. Tomorrow, if we need to, we will add some final touches to pull everything together," demanded his deep voice.

Lightning nodded, as if there was anything else she could do. "Do you mind telling me what this plan is anyway?"

Noctis spoke in a tone like a king would have, full of finality. "You will be returning to the Guardian Corps tomorrow."

"And there's a catch."

Noctis cleared his throat and glared daggers Lightning. "You will say that you were kidnapped and tortured for information. You did not give any, so we threw you out since it was a lost cause. We assumed you would die from injuries, but you did not."

There was more, and she knew it. They wouldn't keep her here and teach her how to use powers just to let her go. In the shadows, they were plotting something. They were writing a play, and she could guess that she's starring as the main character.

_But am I a protagonist or an antagonist?_

"I hear there is an event that the Guardian Corps will be present at. A masquerade, was it?" he looked at Light and she took it as her queue to confirm his words.

"Yes," she said, remembering the information that had been given to the soldiers chosen to work it, her being one of them. "One of Eden's wealthiest families is hosting a masquerade for their friends and hired the Guardian Corps to provide security."

Over the past three months, an intense feeling of self-loathing was taking root in Lightning. She knew that she didn't have a choice, that if she refused to give information, they would hurt her only family left. So many times, she had apologized to everyone in her mind, hoping that maybe someone would hear her and, unlikely as it was, forgive her.

"You will go to the masquerade. As soon as the clock strikes midnight, you will kill everyone in the room, other than the back-up we will provide in the instance that something unexpected happens or on the off chance that you may not follow through with your assignment."

Lightning tried to process the words. It was difficult, though, to think that she was going to kill people that she may have known. It was be just like the first time she used this _gift_, as they called it.

"Consider it your… test. It will be your test to earn our trust, or at least some of it."

Lightning felt like she had just been thrown into a freezing river. She tried not to show it, but she was shocked and horrified that this would be asked of her.

"You return tomorrow. They'll likely examine you, check for any damage we've done to you."

He spoke in a surprisingly gentle tone. Lightning almost let herself believe that he might care for her as part of his criminal family. But she knew better, he was a master of manipulating people. How else would he have so much power and influence?

"The masquerade isn't for a few more weeks, so you should be up to their standards to attend. If you are not able to attend as a part of security, you are to sneak in as a guest. The plan will be the same either way. I'm thinking of sending Prompto with you. Maybe someone else too."

Lightning nodded. "In the time between tomorrow and the masquerade, may I do as I wish?"

"As long as you don't compromise the plan, yes."

_The last time I'll really be able to spend time with Serah… Will it really be this soon?_

~~~Space~~~

The last time she had shed so many tears was at the funeral of her mother. But then, she had Claire to comfort her. Now, she had Snow. The man's large arm was wrapped around her petite frame. However, at this point, she had no more tears to shed.

Claire had disappeared three months ago. With no leads, the search to find her ended quickly. NORA had decided to hold a memorial for Claire, if only for Serah's sake.

A lone picture of her was surrounded by candles and the somber faces of the NORA members. They may not have all known her like Serah had, but they always felt sad for the loss of a friend.

Fang had been especially affected by Claire's disappearance. The two were like sisters. But at least Fang still had Vanille.

No words were spoken. In the beginning, the only sound came from Serah's sobs. Later, even that died down and all that remained was silence and the occasional sniffle.

She remembered the times when she was a child and Claire always seemed happy to see her. The times when Claire would drop anything she was doing just to play with her.

After their father's death, she changed and became cold. She distanced herself even more after joining the Guardian Corps. She became a cold soldier, never talking and always hiding behind her mask. It was like she was a puppet whose strings were being pulled by her superiors.

For so long, her smile had disappeared and her laughter had vanished. Serah could only hope for one good thing to come from her sister's- she would not say death- passing.

_Is she finally happy again?_

~~~Space~~~

"Off you go. And remember, messing up will cost lives."

~~~Space~~~

A/N: Here's chapter three! Please review. Also, is there anything you'd like to see? Maybe a certain point of view or a certain character's story?


	4. Chapter 4

Serah had almost passed out by the time Claire made it to her house. She had been assumed dead, so she couldn't blame the younger girl. After a few very tight hugs, Claire was rushed to the hospital by Snow, who happens to be a terrible driver. Claire thought that car ride would kill her. Serah thought her wounds would kill her and constantly asked how she felt, what happened?

Although her physical wounds were not life-threatening, she was still not allowed to return to the Guardian Corps until deemed fit for service by a therapist. Everyday, she met with the therapist. Everyday, she would try to hint at the upcoming plan of the criminals, but the therapist never caught on, much to Claire's frustration.

While walking through the local mall with Serah, whom she decided to spend as much time as possible with before the masquerade, her mind raced through her options. She doubted she would be allowed to act as security for the masquerade, so she'd have to sneak in.

"What about this one, Claire?" asked Serah, as she stepped out of the dressing room in a light blue sundress.

Interrupted from her thoughts, Claire merely nodded and said, "It matches your eyes."

Serah hadn't asked any questions about Claire's sudden clinginess to her. Claire assumed that she thought it was because of her capture. Serah hadn't even asked her what happened after a few fail tries, and for that, Claire was grateful. Her little sister was her weak spot, if she said anything about the criminals to her; it would be the full story. She couldn't have Serah knowing that her intents were to save her.

With a smile, Serah stepped back into the dressing room. Claire's thoughts continued their trail. She could not do anything, but that would end with harm to Serah. With fists clenched, Claire swore that she would never let anyone harm Serah.

If she were to warn the people or get the masquerade canceled, the outcome would likely be the same as failing to attend the event at all, she assumed. Could she try to protect Serah from the group? Yes, but during the time she spent with the Nightingales she doubted that she would be able to beat them if there were multiple members attacking.

She knew that her future wasn't looking bright at the moment. And, while walking behind her little sister, who was excitedly leading her to the next store, and watching her side ponytail bounce, Claire thought about Serah's future. Having her sister as a criminal would be better than running from criminals. Sure, there would be questions she'd have to answer and memories she'd have to live with, but she'd be alive and well and able to have the future she dreams of.

To protect the little girl she'd always protected, especially from _that man_, Claire would do anything. Memories of _that_ horrible man flooded Claire's mind and determination flowed through her veins in fiery ripples.

Once more, she would become Serah's shield.

~~~Space~~~

Prompto had been asked to keep an eye on Lightning during her little escape from their grasp. Mainly to make sure that she did not reveal any important information and things like that. For jobs like this, he was perfect. He had the ability to zoom in on locations and, in time, developed the ability to see clearly in the night as if he were using night vision goggles. Becoming a sharpshooter, and a criminal, was fairly easy for the blonde man.

He had been learning things about the soldier. He could see how much she loved her sister just by looking at her eyes. In a distant past, he had looked at his younger brother that same way too. Somehow, he knew that both he and that woman would do anything to protect their siblings and, if he had to guess, the reason she had complied with the Nightingales was tied to her little sister. Noctis had threatened her with the thing that means the most to her. If Prompto and her were as similar as he thought, then there would be no question of her accomplishing her task or not.

Prompto wasn't happy to know that he was part of the group that would cause that woman so much pain, but he at least hoped she would see a family in them. The world saw them as criminals, but they were a family. With each member having an ability not common among the population, being with others in the same situation was comforting. He knew what it was like to be forced into a criminal life, too.

~~~Space~~~

Yeul couldn't say she was happy, but no one would be able to tell. Always, she kept a stone face on. Her feelings were her own and nobody needed to know of them.

Getting a new guardian brought painful memories back to her mind. After her previous guardian's disappearance, the illusions she weaved for her victims left their minds irreversibly scarred. It was a good way for her to release her anger, her frustration, her _betrayal._

As she walked through the dim halls of their headquarters, her feet made no sound. She was a small girl and her powers made her vulnerable, but she had a guardian once. Now, a new guardian would be forced into her company.

Yes, she had seen Light while the woman was held captive. She had watched her in training and saw her progress. Yes, she knew she could trust the woman to keep her safe, if only for the sake of her sister. The threat of Noctis was not unknown to her. He thinks about things so deeply that she can hear the thoughts. He wasn't aware about that part of her power. After all, she had developed it rather recently. But for some reason, her heart was telling her to keep it secret. She learned about the members even more after her discovery of this power and kept their secrets to herself.

Yeul found her way to the garden eventually and sighed as she took a seat on a bench placed near a few of the flower beds. She picked one of the flowers and twirled it by its stem. When she was here, smelling the fresh air laced with floral scents, she could get lost in her memories and forget reality. In a few days, her new guardian would be joining them. But before that, she would have to attend a masquerade.

~~~Space~~~

"How about you choose the movie while I make some popcorn?" suggested Serah as she walked into the kitchen to start making said popcorn.

Claire had a harder time choosing a movie than she thought. In the end, she decided on a comedy. The last thing she wanted was to see Serah cry during a romance or horror movie. Although she seemed surprised at Claire's choice of movies, Serah didn't question it and Claire was grateful.

Throughout the movie, she laughed at all the appropriate times, but it wasn't the movie that truly had her attention. It was Serah. She watched Serah laugh and smile and it made her smile in turn. But Claire's smiles weren't all joyful for she knew that her time with Serah would be over soon. In three days the masquerade would take place and she'll likely cause Serah a lot of pain. _No matter what,_ she said to herself. _I will not let them have their way so easily._

On the day of the masquerade, Claire told Serah that she was invited to attend as a guest since her capture made her unable to be security. Serah was furious at being told so late, and slightly insulted that she wasn't invited too, but she insisted that Claire let her play dress up with her big sister. For the first time in the sisters' history, Claire agreed.

Serah put dress after dress on Claire. All colors of the rainbow had made their way onto her at some point during the day before Serah decided on a simple black halter dress. It fit tightly on top, before flowing out at the bottom. The fabric was soft and Claire kept feeling it between her fingers. With an excited squeal, Serah left the room to gather supplies for whatever else she planned to do.

Some make up was applied on Claire's face, much to Serah's joy and her displeasure. But seeing as her face would have a mask on it, Serah focused more on Claire's hair. It had been styled into an elegant bun with a few loose curls falling out.

A few minutes after Claire had been dressed to Serah's satisfaction, Snow walked in and handed Serah some object Claire couldn't quite identify. She soon learned that it was a black mask that Serah had called Lebreau to acquire and send home with Snow. The mask was perfect for the dress. After everything was in place, Serah left to go downstairs. "Just come down when you're ready and we'll drive you to the house," she said with a smile, skipping out of the room.

Looking in the mirror, Claire couldn't help but think of how perfect the choice of color was. Black: the color of mourning. After today, many families will be mourning because of her and she would be mourning too. But for now, she would enjoy these last moments with her precious Serah before being thrown into a criminal world. Before trying to sabotage the criminal plans. _Earn their trust, then strike._

With a deep sigh and the feeling of the world hanging on her shoulders, Claire left the room and took one step closer into the fate she didn't want.


	5. Chapter 5

It was asked if this will be a Lightis story. There will be Lightis in the story, just not right off the bat. I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review.

~~~Space~~~

"Invitation?" asked the man in a perfectly assembled tuxedo and a mask covering his eyes, not unlike the other party-goers.

Claire flashed her Guardian Corps license that had been stored in her small black clutch. The man nodded without question and let her in, pretending to check off a name on the list. She swiftly made her way to the ballroom of the mansion.

The ballroom was larger than she could've imagined. The ceiling towered over the guests as if it was the night sky and the glistening chandeliers that hung from it were the stars. On the left side of the room, there was an orchestra filled with musicians playing a variety of instruments both large and small. The notes were light and flitted on the air, guiding the party goers in graceful dances. To her right, a long table sat decorated with drinks and various refreshments. In the space between, men and tuxedos and women in dresses, all wearing masks, stepped and spun in perfect rhythm with the music.

Claire snuck past the guests, obviously enjoying themselves, to the other side of the room. This wall had tall windows, covering most of its height in their colorful pictures. She picked a windowsill to sit on and waited for midnight.

A few men had asked Claire for a dance, but she politely declined each offer. She refused to learn anything about anyone in the ballroom. It would only make it harder.

~~~Space~~~

Claire wasn't hard to find. Her thoughts were so loud that Yeul would have been unable to fall asleep- if she had been trying to in the first place, that is. She swiftly made her way to the soldier, her long, white dress brushed at her feet as she did so. Claire was over thinking the actions she was being forced to take.

"Calm down," Yeul said as she took her place standing beside Claire. She was amused that while she was wearing a white dress and mask, Claire wore a black dress and mask. _Light and dark._

The only answer Yeul received was an annoyed "Hmph". Sighing, Yeul decided to give the woman the information she needed and leave as soon as possible. "Five minutes before midnight, Prompto and I will leave the ballroom and block off the doors. The rest is your job," she spoke in her usual hushed tone, even if there was no need to due to the music.

She didn't wait for Claire to respond before delving into the crowd and becoming lost in a sea of color and movement. She made her way back to Prompto, which was easy as he had chosen to wear a flamboyant orange mask.

"Are you all right?" Prompto immediately asked Yeul when she returned to his side. Used to the question, she nodded. She knew she was small, but she didn't get hurt that easily. Unless she was using her powers, but that's why she was receiving a new guardian. _Because he didn't care enough to stay with me_, she thought bitterly.

She did appreciate Prompto's concern, even if it wasn't made obvious. Through the years, he had acted as a big brother to her. Making sure everything was okay, making her laugh, and unsuccessfully trying to tease her.

After checking the time, it was eleven thirty; Yeul and Prompto were at a loss of what to do for the next twenty five minutes. They opted to stand and watch those on the dance floor move with eerie grace.

Without warning, Prompto stepped in front of Yeul and lowered himself into a gallant bow. "A dance, Milady?" he asked with a bright smile.

With the faintest of smiles on her face, Yeul accepted the offer and was swept into the crowd of dancers. Though their movements were not as fluid as the others, they had just as much – if not more – fun. Yeul laughed with merriment when Prompto twirled her and it she saw him smile then. A genuine smile, not the fake ones he'd give to anyone and everyone. Those smiles she had learned to see through a long time ago, but she never said anything, if only for his sake. He was always worried someone would find out how he truly felt. Sometimes, the thoughts kept him up at night and Yeul listened.

She never imagined Prompto as a ballroom dancer, but he seemed to know some of what he was doing. He led, and she followed. Unlike other guests, Prompto would often add overly exaggerated actions to the dances. Instead of just twirling Yeul, he would pick her up and spin with her in the air. She smiled a little wider. But this time, she wondered if maybe the smiles were real and not just acts to make the man believe she was happy. Maybe she truly was a little happy again.

Now, if only for a few minutes, while they were wrapped in music and dance, they could forget about their realities. They could feel normal again.

~~~Space~~~

When the bells tolled midnight, Claire adopted the stone face she used during missions. She breathed deeply and concentrated. Felt the power from her core be released and spread through her body, like a wave of warm water. It was comforting; the warmth. It reminded her of home. As she focused her power, the crackling electricity grew louder and louder before she let the power burst and electrocute all of the near by party goers.

The smell of their burning flesh made Claire's stomach lurch. She could feel the content's desire to return, but willed the feeling away. She killed a Guardian Corps soldier that came after her and took his weapon. It wasn't her Blazefire, but it'd have to do. With the weapon, she made her way through the ballroom creating a bloodbath.

The guards came after her. She blocked a blow before stabbing her blade through the poor man.

"_Why do you want to join the Guardian Corps, Claire? You could get hurt!"_

The guard's last words were never heard. When he tried to speak, blood poured from his mouth and the only sound he made was a sick gurgling.

"_I don't care if I get hurt, Serah. I want to protect everyone," Claire said, though she really meant that she wanted to protect Serah._

She imagined that he was trying to call for his mom, as most dying soldiers did. She had seen it too many times to forget.

_Claire looked Serah in the eyes, so similar yet so different from her own. "I promise you, I will always return home. I always have."_

_Serah nodded hesitantly. Claire had spent her life protecting her precious little sister from _him. _She could just as easily protect others from any threat that came their way._

The next person she encountered wasn't like the guards, she was much more skilled. Even while wearing a dark blue dress and mask, she was able to move efficiently. She, too, was using a stolen guard weapon.

"_Claire look, I'm the top in my class!" shouted Serah. Claire had just returned from a long day of work, but still found the energy to smile and hug her baby sister._

"_That's great," she muttered sleepily. "They'd be so proud."_

"You'll have to do better than that!" taunted the woman in the blue dress while she easily sidestepped another of Claire's attacks. Claire didn't reply, instead she just kept slashing at the woman, stone mask still in place.

_It was unusual for Claire to have a weekend off, so she dedicated it to spending time with Serah. Unfortunately, Serah had already made plans with some friends that had a group called NORA. Claire wanted to object to her spending time with the rambunctious group, but when she saw the sparkle in Serah's eyes as she spoke, she relented. She had two days off; having one to herself wouldn't be so bad._

_But she had to wonder, when had she been placed second in Serah's list? Because, no matter what, Serah would be first in her own._

Claire effortlessly flipped over a sweeping strike from the woman. "Light on your feet, aren't ya?" she asked.

_Snow. She didn't like him. Not his loud voice, not his mannerisms, not his hero talk. Nothing. But for some reason, Serah loved him._

"_Yo, Claire!" he greeted as he stuck out a hand to shake._

_Claire blatantly ignored his hand, keeping her arms crossed. "Sergeant Farron," she corrected._

_Inwardly, she smirked as the large man's smile fell a bit and his hand dropped to his side. She knew Serah wouldn't be happy with her, but that was all right. 'When did I stop focusing on her happiness and start focusing on the trivial parts of her life?' pondered Claire._

_When had she and Serah become so distant towards each other?_

Claire sent a bolt of lightning at the woman and it grazed her arm. She rushed in to deal a final blow.

She could already see Serah's reaction to this night. She'll be in denial at first. Perhaps her mind will shut down, but Snow will help her. He'll wipe away her tears and listen to her frustration.

Then, she'll probably be angry. At Claire, most likely. Maybe at the world too. No matter what, Claire knew that Serah would try to get her back at some point. Claire wasn't sure she'd be able to face Serah when all was said and done. There'd be too much shame. But, even now she was trying to defy The Nightingales. Instead of killing everyone in the room, she knocked as many as she could unconscious, the ones who wouldn't fight back, mostly.

She was too confident. The blow she had already deemed as the final one was deflected and the woman slashed up at her mask, cutting it cleanly off of Claire's face and drawing a small amount of blood in the process.

Time stood still as Claire waited for the woman to attack again, to hopefully kill her and end her personal hell before it truly began. The remains of her mask hit the floor almost soundlessly. Claire made no move to wipe the blood from her shallow cut. She was a sitting target, but the woman still made no move.

The woman's mouth opened a bit, then closed. When she opened it again, only one word managed to escape, "Claire?"

The woman reached up to remove her own mask, and this time it was Claire's turn to be frozen in shock. Dread washed over her and locked everything in place. The sickness in her stomach became almost unbearable. In her mind, Claire cried out two words to any god willing to listen, _"Why her?"_


	6. Chapter 6

"Claire?"

"_Claire? Are you listening to me?" Serah pouted. "You weren't, were you?"_

_Claire shook her head and Serah sighed. "You're going to get grey hair soon; you take everything far too seriously!"_

"_The point Serah?" asked a none too pleased Claire. She was quickly losing her patience with Serah's bubbly attitude._

"_New NORA members, Claire! More people who want to help the city."_

_Claire hated that word, or acronym. NORA. They were just a bunch of nuisances. She tried to tell Serah that, but she wouldn't listen and joined anyway. She always spent her time at that bar and with Snow. _

"_So?"_

"_Claire," whined Serah. "I know you don't like them, but they're good people! Just give them a chance, okay?"_

_Serah had her hands folded and used her puppy dog eyes to look up at Claire._

_Claire huffed. If it weren't for her job, she would have loved to have left Eden. It's a terrible city full of crime. It's dangerous to even walk through the streets alone. But Serah wanted to stay. It was the only city she knew and she loved it, so Claire tried to love it as well._

_It was hard loving Cocoon's capital city. People were everywhere and its jails were filled. Not to mention, the Nightingales were somewhere in the city plotting their next crime. Companies polluted the air and beggars lined the streets. Everyone had troubles here, save for the very richest._

_The woman Serah introduced her to was only an inch taller, if that. She had wild black hair and a blue tribal looking outfit. "Fang," she introduced herself as._

"_Sergeant Farron," Claire replied coldly._

"_This is my sister Claire," Serah said. "Forgive her cold attitude, she has to warm up to people."_

_Across Fang's face spread an evil grin. "Can I call you Sunshine?"_

"_No."_

"_Sunshine it is!"_

"Claire, stop this now. What's gotten into you?"

Claire was glad that Fang and her were the only two left conscious at the time. Otherwise, she would have left herself open for attack.

"You can tell me. We'll go to the Guardian Corps together. You can claim to be insane. We'll get you help," insisted Fang, desperation growing in her voice.

"I can't."

No matter how much she wanted to, she was stuck. But, now that she knew her opponent was Fang, she wasn't sure she'd be able to fight anymore. _Could Fang kill me and end it all here?_

No, Fang would never. At best, Claire could rot in an insane asylum for the rest of her life. Seeing therapists day after day wasn't exactly appealing to her, though killing wasn't either. She had no choice.

_Fang was a persistent woman. She followed Claire like a puppy and annoyed her to no end. But somewhere along the line, Claire began to form a friendship with Fang. They learned more about each other and found out they were very similar._

_Both would do anything to ensure the safety of their loved ones. For Claire, it was Serah. For Fang, it was a redhead girl named Vanille._

_They started to spar each other, and to both of their surprise, they were an even match. Claire had never had a best friend, or any real friends, but she felt confident in calling Fang her best friend. Even if Fang was part of NORA._

It was only a moment before Claire was behind Fang. Tears stung in her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall. Not here, not now. Later, maybe.

"I'm sorry," were the only words spoken before Claire knocked Fang unconscious. She watched as the last opposing occupant in the room fell to the cold ground like a rag doll. The dull thud reminded her of the identical sounds the dead made when they fell, and if she didn't know any better, Fang could've been thought dead as well.

The doors of the ballroom opened slowly to show Yeul and Prompto. Claire kept her gaze fixated on Fang, but didn't fight back when Prompto wrapped an arm around and Yeul held one of her hands to lead her out. To her new home, that's where they were going.

How strange those words seemed.

~~~Space~~~

Her room was small and plain. A closet on one wall, a door on another. A bed sat pressed against yet another wall with a nightstand beside it and a lamp on the nightstand. Like any other day, the lamp was not on and her room was dark.

Claire lied on her bed. Images of the now dead danced through her head. _Ha. Danced._ She thought to herself.

She noticed that she was acquiring a strange sense of humor.

There was a small knock on the door. Claire made no effort to answer it and the door opened as she expected it would, it always did when she didn't answer. Even when she did answer, saying she wanted to be alone, it was opened.

Yeul strode silently to a chair waiting to be used in the corner. "It's not the end," she said in her silent, calm voice.

_Not the end?_ Claire scoffed. She had nothing left. Everything, _everything_ was the price for Serah's life to be spared. She was just trying to be a good sister again.

"_There's my perfect little angel. Did you have a good day at school?" her father had a broad smile on his face. When they walked in, he turned the television off and gave his full attention._

_Claire opened her mouth to respond, but Serah spoke first in her surprisingly loud voice. For a small child, she had some big lungs. "It was fantastic!" she started to tell their dad stories of scissors and construction paper and everything found in an elementary school classroom._

_Of course he was talking to Serah. Serah was his perfect child, not her. That's why Serah was never punished. With a soundless sigh, Claire headed to her room where she stayed for the rest of the day, only leaving to have dinner. No one ever heard her stories or her cries when she was alone. The walls of her room knew more than anyone ever would._

By the time Claire was done daydreaming, Yeul had already left.

_Just like everyone else._

~~~Space~~~

After two weeks of life confined in her room, Claire received a visit from the leader of the Nightingales, The Prince.

He didn't knock, instead he barged into her room. Not angrily, but hastily.

"It's been long enough," he stated. "Come."

Claire was lead through the halls of the large home they resided in. They stopped in a room with a large mirror and chair in it. A few other objects occupied the space too, but it was overall a plain sight.

"Sit."

She did. He called Prompto in who proceeded to dye Claire's hair. If she objected at this point, all she would receive would be a bad haircut. So she kept her mouth shut and let Prompto work, he was actually pretty talented with hair, it seemed.

Standing in the mirror, Claire saw a strange sight. Instead of pink curls cascading to her shoulder, there were black curls. Her white Guardian Corps. vest was replaced with a plain black vest of a similar style. _"You aren't one of them anymore," _Noctis had said when he handed her the vest.

Noctis placed his hand on her shoulder, and to her surprise, it felt relatively normal. She didn't sense ill-intent from the notorious criminal. He didn't look like a bloody thirsty monster in the mirror. He looked human. "Claire is dead."

Claire turned her head to look at him. Her mouth opened to talk, but he stopped her. When his eyes met hers, everything stopped for a moment. The look in them was almost sympathetic. "You are now 'Lightning'. A member of the Nightingales. Dress how you want, just don't wear your uniform. Change your hair often, it helps disguises."

Nodding, Lightning ran the information through her head.

"One more thing," Noctis added. "Tomorrow, you and Yeul will be going to town to buy some supplies. It's a bonding exercise for you two since it will be your job to protect her in battle."

Somehow, Light didn't object to having to spend a day with Yeul. She was almost looking forward to it.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Sorry it's a bit late, but it's here now.

~~~Space~~~

Lightning blinked her eyes repeatedly, thinking maybe she had gone a bit overboard. The mascara she had put on made her eyelashes stick together. To add to it, she couldn't rub her eyes when she was tired, an old habit of hers, since she had also put on a little eye shadow. It was silver and made her eyes pop, in her opinion.

She hadn't wanted to put on make up, but it was highly suggested that she looks as different as possible. The Nightingales couldn't do anything past dying her hair and putting on the miniscule amount of make up, she wouldn't let them. It was bad enough she couldn't wear her Guardian Corps vest, she loved that vest.

"It's just up ahead," Yeul walked through the crowded streets with her silent, steady steps. She wore a purple dress with a white hat covering her cobalt blue hair. She looked just like any civilian child. _Actually, how did she discover her powers and become a criminal?_ Lightning thought idly.

The walk to wherever their destination was, Lightning wasn't sure, was uneventful. Drops of rain thumped on their silky umbrella and found their way off the edge to the water accumulating on the ground. Not that the weather was unusual, it rained most days in Eden. The conversation between the two Nightingales was minimal, just simple directions given by Yeul when necessary.

The stores lining the streets blended together in Light's mind and soon she found that it wasn't Yeul walking beside her, but Serah instead.

"_C'mon Claire! Just one minute, I swear that's all it will take," Serah pleaded as she walked down the street alongside her big sister._

_Claire let out a long sigh. She hated dresses. She hated Snow. She did not want to go with Serah to buy a dress for her date. Then again, how often had she really been present in Serah's life lately?_

"_Fine," she ground out between ground teeth, no louder than a whisper. But it was loud enough for Serah to hear, her face immediately brightened as she wrapped her arms around Claire in an overly tight hug._

"_Oh, thank you!" Serah merrily skipped to the store, Claire in tow and began rummaging through the racks of dresses and hulled them to the fitting rooms while Claire waited._

_The first few dresses were not for Serah. One was too short and was immediately shot down as an option by Claire. Another was too long and looked like it was suffocating Serah within folds of bright cotton. Others still just had cuts that didn't look right or out of place colors._

_After what seemed like hours, Serah emerged wearing a pale pink dress that had many folds near the hem, coming modestly to her knees. It had no sleeves, but a small bit of lace instead. Serah twirled in the dress for Claire. "So? How do I look?"_

_Feeling a small smile creep onto her face, Claire nodded her approval, "Like a little rose."_

"Is there something you want from here?" Yeul tore Light from her memories. She hadn't even realized that she had been standing in front of a shop with similar dresses to the ones in her memories or that her hand was pressed against the smooth, damp glass.

Slowly, Light shakes her head, seeing her reflection in the glass instead of the fabric behind it. "No, I was just…"

She steps away from the store and continues walking with Yeul silently by her side. "It was nothing," she finally adds.

And much to her relief, Yeul did not question her further.

~~~Space~~~

Serah was not happy.

Snow couldn't exactly say he was either, but right now Serah needed him. After the loss of her sister, she had been acting distant. Now, she didn't talk often and her smiles were rarer. He couldn't remember the last time he heard her laugh, it was far too long ago.

Claire went to the masquerade and vanished. No one knows what happened, but Snow knows Fang was there. She says she didn't see Claire, but there's a distance in her eyes like she's not focusing on him even though they make eye contact. Also, he noticed she had been drinking more. Sure a drink or two after a long task was one thing, but many more almost nightly? Something was bothering her.

Snow knocked at the bedroom door and awaited Serah's voice much like a child would await punishment from their parents. "Come in," was the muffled reply.

Snow opened the door and sat on a bed covered in a fluffy cream quilt. Serah sat quietly, lap gently illuminating the darkened room and book in hand, though she did place the book on the nightstand when Snow walked in. It never was in her nature to be distracted while someone was talking to her.

"When was the last time we went somewhere together?" Snow wrapped his arm around his fiancée.

"We're at Lebreau's bar almost every day."

"I meant when was the last time we went on a proper date?"

The question seemed to have caught Serah's interest as her eyes obtained a small glimmer, like the first stars that dot the coming night.

"Are you taking me on a date?"

Snow got off of the bed and lifted Serah from her spot. With her in his arms, he spun around once. "You're the only one I ever would," he gently set her on her feet before making his way to the door, stopping once he reached it and turning back. "We'll go to dinner in a couple hours, so you might want to start getting ready now."

"I don't take that long!" protested an irritated Serah, though Snow had left the room quickly after he had teased her.

She would simply take her time preparing herself for their date.

~~~Space~~~

"They are his favorites," Yeul comments as the worker puts them carefully into a paper bag.

Lightning inhales deeply, allowing the overwhelming scent of fresh bread and sweet pastries to fill her lungs. The particular pastry Yeul referred to appeared to be filled with a type of berry jelly, strawberry or cherry perhaps, and topped with creamy icing.

No wonder they're Prompto's favorites, they look delicious.

Once Yeul has the bag of pastries in hand, they leave the small bakery to the sound of the worker wishing them a good day and telling them to please return. "If there is nothing you wish to purchase, we may be returning home now," Yeul eyes the items they've purchase, minor things not nearly as sketchy as Light would have thought.

Pastries for Prompto, various fragments of amber, quartz, and the like for Yeul, sunglasses for Gladiolus (he had been complaining about his broken pair for weeks, according to Yeul), a few books for Ignis, who Light has yet to meet, and many pencils for Noctis.

Just before Light was going to say there was nothing she need, she caught sight of the window of a florist's shop. Bouquets ranging from simple to extravagant were on display and Light decided there was one thing she was going to purchase.

~~~Space~~~

Now Serah was the one waiting for Snow. He may have been taking his time in order to retaliate to her taking her time, but either way Serah was a little annoyed. Seeing that the rain from earlier in the day had stopped, she stepped out onto the front porch of the house.

Her foot brushed against something as she stepped into the cooling evening air. Looking down, Serah saw roughly a half dozen pale pink roses wrapped in matching pale paper resting on the wooden deck. She carefully picked them up and searched for a card or any sign of the sender. Though they did remind her of a time long passed.

She felt the soft fabric of a dress embracing her, but it was different from the one she currently wore.

"_So, how do I look?" _Her own voice echoed in her head.

"_Like a rose."_

"Hey, did you say something, Serah?" Snow inquired.

Serah turned around and looked at her fiancé. He gestured at the flowers in her arms. "Where'd you get those?"

A bright smile was Serah's silent response. Something in Snow's expression told her the he understood. These flowers are proof of life.

They are proof that Claire's alive.

~~~Space~~~

**Crack.**

Another pencil, broken into two from his hand's grasp. More unfinished words, statements, paragraphs, stories left on his paper. The pencil's remnants were thrown at the wall as Noctis rested his head upon his other hand, propping himself up with help from his elbow.

His room was plain and dimly lit. He hated the light. He turned the lamp off and made his way to his bed. Wrapped in it's soft fabric, he attempted to sleep, but that luxury never came easily anymore.

He couldn't think clearly anymore either, and that pissed him off. What could he do anymore?

For months, he had been planning the Nightingales next moves, each one like a game of chess, exposing the enemy's king and then capturing it. He was planning everything so carefully for them, success had to be guaranteed. The city would know them, because they would cause Eden's fall.

Then, _she_ came into the picture. That stubborn, infuriating woman. Sometimes he wondered if he would just dispose of her and find someone else to take her place. But something told him that was a bad idea. She is a trained soldier after all, taking care of people used to be her job so she should have no problems guarding Yeul. That was the reason he told himself he kept her around for.

Deeper inside told him he was lying to himself. He wouldn't be able to kill her, no matter what the circumstance was. He wouldn't be able to torture her again either, at least he didn't think so. Hopefully, he wouldn't have a reason to anyway and the question could remain a mystery.

So many things about her intrigued him, but he warned himself that he couldn't get close to her, it would only cause trouble. But she was so strong if she would only relent to his torture because of threats to her sister. To have such love for another person to give up everything for them was a feeling he didn't know. He couldn't say he was fond of his family. They had treated him like he was a monster. Just because he was a little different, he never wanted to hurt them. _Before that moment_, he corrected himself.

But he wondered if maybe, she could help him.

~~~Space~~~

A/N: Thank you for reading, please review. I know how I want the story to end, but the journey to the ending is being planned on very loose structures. I'm very sorry if it ever gets confusing for this reason, but hope that it will not be that way.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I apologize in advance for any errors or anything that may be unclear in this chapter. I may or may not be a very large bit tired.

~~~Space~~~

It wasn't going to be easy. Why would it be?

_You only tortured her, threatened the life of the person dearest to her, and made her a criminal, I'm sure she loves you._

"Why should I care if she does or not," muttered Noctis, pacing in his dim room. "I don't care for her. Just another soldier for our war against PSICOM. Besides, she should want to join us. It _is_ PSICOM's fault she's ended up like this."

_Does she know that?_

"She doesn't need to, at least not yet. Right now, she just needs to focus on protecting Yeul."

_Thinking quite a bit about her lately, aren't you?_

"There is a lot to consider when a new member is present."

_Excuses. It wasn't nearly this stressful for you when Yeul joined us._

"She was taken care of already. I had to do minimal work."

A small knock came from the door, barely audible. Noctis moved from his spot to see who would dare to interrupt his thoughts. Behind the wooden door, Yeul stood with her usually lack of expression present. His eyes met her deep green ones before she said, "Dinner is ready. Come, you haven't eaten all day." With that, she turned and left.

It wasn't until then that Noctis felt the emptiness of his stomach. With a disgruntled sigh, Noctis resigned to joining his team for dinner. Maybe it would be something that tasted good for once… Maybe it was Prompto's cooking.

Noctis shuddered at the thought. The last time Prompto cooked, he received food poisoning. The blonde man stayed out of Noctis's sight for three months afterwards, and it was a very smart thing for the man to do. Noctis was prepared to kill him.

_We can continue this conversation later._

Noctis grabbed his head. "Can't you just be quiet for once?"

~~~Space~~~

It was quiet through the meal. Maybe it was because Noctis usually didn't actually stay to eat, but had decided to this time. He was impressed, the food actually tasted good this time. _Did Yeul cook it?_ He wondered as he ate.

Now and then, he would feel Light glaring at him. Inside, it made his stomach drop. _Did I hurt her that much?_

_Of course you did, dumbass. You only took everything she had to live for away and threatened what was left._

He was beginning to hate his mind.

"I'll handle it, Yeul," said Light. Her usual cold voice held a certain gentleness to it when she addressed the young criminal.

"Then, thank you for the meal and for cleaning it up," Yeul said as she stood and left the dining room.

_Light cooked it?_

_Noctis sat at the dinner table, surrounded by his noisy siblings. A few seats away, his mother sat smiling as she watched her children talk and tease one another. He looked at his plate and took small bites of the food._

"_You know they say serial killers are very quiet people! I bet you're a killer, aren't you, Noctis?" cried out one of his older brothers with a smug grin._

_Noctis gripped his fork tightly, his knuckles turned white. "I am not," he whispered._

"_Eh? What's that? You'll have to speak up, you're _too_ quiet."_

"_I am not!" yelled Noctis. He threw his fork to the ground and stormed out of the room, a familiar stinging kept at bay behind his eyes._

~~~Space~~~

Without warning, Noctis stood up and threw his fork to the floor just as Light was about to take his dish to be washed. He stormed out of the room with a scowl.

Light had been shocked, but quickly regained her calm composure. "Maybe he didn't like it?"

"No way," said Prompto, belching. "It was delicious, so that option's ruled out."

Gladiolus smacked the back of Prompto's head. The large man turned his attention to Light and smiled sheepishly. "Is it too much to ask for seconds?"

Light shook her head and filled a plate for him. As she set it in front of him, she had a faint smile on her face. "You're on thirds, at least, by now."

Gladiolus chuckled before digging into his food. "I can't help that you're the best cook in this house, Light!" he said with a full mouth.

Prompto smacked the back of Gladiolus's head, although it was more for payback than for his rude behavior. It didn't take long for a small fight to start between the two of them. Light watched them mildly irritate each other while washing the dishes.

_Why is Noctis so upset from dinner? Did I do something?_

Fear gripped Light's heart and squeezed it tightly. _If I did do something, is he going to take it out on Serah?_

_Light was back in her "cell", hands and feet chained. She heard the door open and, with much effort, raised her head to see who was "visiting" her this time. Her eyes locked with the dark eyes of Noctis. They remained locked with that merciless glare as he grabbed her hair and slammed her head against the wall._

_He broke their eye contact and leaned in close enough for her to feel his breath on her skin. It made it shudder with resentment towards the sadistic man. "Do you have an answer for me, _Sergeant_?"_

"_Sorry, _Princess_, but I don't think I'll be helping the likes of you anytime soon."_

_Light smirked when she saw the anger seething from Noctis's expression, but that smirk faded quickly. She only wished that her consciousness could have faded as quickly._

The sound of something shattering reached Light's ears. She turned to see what Prompto and Gladiolus had broken, only to find them looking at her with every dish in front of them in order. Looking down, Light saw the remnants of the plate she had been holding only a moment ago.

_I never remember even touching the plate._

"You okay, Light?" Prompto asked. He said the words slowly, carefully.

Light didn't move her gaze from the shattered glass. "Yeah… I'm just going to do these dishes later."

"You look a bit pale, Light. Are you sure you're okay?" Gladiolus asked. Both men had come closer and were inspecting her complexion.

"I'm just tired. I'm going to go rest." Light stepped past the two and left to her room at a brisk walk.

"Uh, I can take care of these, would you mind sweeping up the glass, Gladdy?" she heard Prompto asked.

"Only if you never call me that again, Promty," retorted Gladiolus.

With that, Light closed her door and was satisfied with the small click it made. She felt as if she had no energy left. Leaning against the door, she slid to the floor and held her hands in front of her face.

_Get a hold of yourself, Sergeant._ Her hands were trembling.

_No, you're not a sergeant anymore._ She lowered her hands to her lap.

_You never will be._ Her head drooped down.

_That man took everything from you, how could you let that happen?_ She closed her eyes, but all she could see was Noctis's face burnt into her mind. Pain flowed through her veins like lava.

_It's not real!_ She cried in her mind.

"It's not real!" The world faded to black.

~~~Space~~~

Noctis leaned against the porch railing. The cool night breeze tousled his midnight hair.

"_What are you doing out here?" Noctis's mother asked as she sat beside her son on the grass lawn._

"_It's quiet here…" was Noctis's replay with his feeble voice._

_Noctis's mother placed her hand on his head and ruffled his hair, the same color as her's. "Are you letting what your siblings say get to you? They're just teasing you know."_

_Her voice was so soft, so gentle. "I know, but…"_

"_Well, if you don't like it, why not stand up to them. Tell them you don't like it and be strong. Then, they'll stop."_

_Noctis looked at his mother with hopeful eyes. "Really?"_

_She smiled and hugged her son. "Really."_

_Noctis returned the hug with a large smile. "I'll do it!"_

"_I believe in you."_

Noctis sighed and turned to go inside the house once again. "What went wrong, Mom?"

The sound of his footsteps was barely audible as he navigated back to his room. When he pictured his mom, she reminded him of Lightning. Was that how it was when she would talk to her sister? Did she have the same gentle tone his mother spoke with? Would she use that same tone with her children?

_Why am I thinking of all this now? She's a means to an end, nothing more._

But still, he felt a tug when he thought of what he had done to her.

_Give me control, Noctis. I will give you strength. _Growled a voice within his head.

Noctis clenched his fists. _Not again._


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: In case you've forgotten, I do not own Final Fantasy.

~~~Space~~~

The cold night air disturbed his midnight locks as Noctis worked beneath the light of the moon. Within moments, the door's lock was broken and he stepped into the dark front room. Ahead of him, he saw a staircase going up. To his right, there was a family room connected to a kitchen a bit farther back. The soft light from nightlights made him assume that either children or pathetic adults, or both, lived here.

_More than one person, I certainly hope._

He chose to ascend the stairs, hands in his pockets. He made hardly any noise and put his ear up against the first door he found. Inside the room, someone was snoring just loud enough for him to hear. Noctis leaned against the door frame and knocked on the wooden door twice.

Within the room, he heard the rustle of blankets and a high-pitched voice, but the snoring continued through it. "Lucy," said a woman. "Is that you? Did you have another bad dream, Sweetheart?"

_Parents and a child in this home? Not a bad choice._

Noctis opened the door and wordlessly walked into the room. The woman was sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Beside her, a man continued to sleep, undisturbed. Half-yawning, the woman said, "Did you want to sleep with Mommy and Daddy again?"

"I'll have to decline," Noctis said, the woman now alert from hearing the unusually deep voice when expecting a child's voice.

She meant Noctis's crimson eyes and opened her mouth as if to speak but no words came forth. Around Noctis, a dozen swords started a deadly dance. Moonlight from the window glinted off their sharpened blades. Those same windows were spotted red only moments later, after Noctis had turned the woman into a living pin cushion. She never uttered that last scream lingering on her lips or closed her eyes to hide in her mind from the inevitable.

For the first time since Noctis's arrival, the man mumbled something and sat up. He lifted his hand to touch his face, finding a blood splatter from the now dead woman, whom Noctis assumed to be his wife.

"What?" the confused man asked, staring at the warm red substance on his finger tips. "H-honey, what is this?" he sounded so frightened. It was like music to Noctis's ears.

"Honey?" the man asked more frantically as he didn't get an answer, turning to his left, he saw the woman's body. Though the swords had vanished by now, the body still looked beyond help. Several stab wounds continued to ooze out blood. "What happened?" the man now had tears beginning to stream down his face.

Noctis couldn't stop the smile from spreading on his face. "She was having a little trouble sleeping, so I decided to give her a hand," Noctis kept his voice calm and bored, but he could feel his bloodlust being satisfied and the excitement from the smell of blood coursed through him.

The man, hearing Noctis's comment, seemed to be filled with blind rage. His face turned red and he swiftly, albeit clumsily, stood and ran at Noctis. Fist drawn and ready to strike, Noctis vanished, his hair turning white, before reappearing behind the now stumbling man. As his hair regained its true color, Noctis laughed.

The man was now even more infuriated and ran at Noctis, wrapping his hands around the criminal's throat. "I'll kill you for this! I swear I'll kill you!" he cried.

Noctis, now frowning from having the man's hands closing his airway, summoned a single sword to impale the man. Immediately, the grip loosened and the man fell to the floor. His breathing became labored before stopping completely.

Noctis tilted his head while staring at the lifeless body. He knelt beside it and patted the man's wound, blood coating his hand. "Not if I kill you first," he felt a little childish using that line, now that the bloodlust and voice had quieted down, but there would really never be an opportunity to use it in such perfect context again.

Standing, Noctis looked at the doorway and was greeted by a man dressed all in purple. "You're a bit late this time, Caius."

Caius scowled. "Still a monster like always, Noctis."

"I don't abandon my children."

Caius's scowl deepened and Noctis knew he hit a nerve, inside him a feeling of victory spread. "I can't stand seeing what she's become."

"You've been watching us that much?" Noctis shrugged. "She's what you made her."

"I wasn't thinking clearly!" Caius gripped the hilt of his great sword.

"You can't accept responsibility for your actions either, it seems. The rest of us continue what we do because we have nowhere else to go. A criminal is a criminal, Caius."

"I'm atoning for my sins, Noctis. NORA accepted me for who I was. They have learned to trust me."

"I never see you fight with them. I guess they still can't trust you with us high class criminals, can they?"

Caius growled. "I know trusting a criminal is difficult and I am gracious they trust me even the slightest."

Caius started to draw his sword. "Ah, ah, ah," said Noctis in a condescending tone. "You don't want to wake little Lucy, do you? She'll have to come see the commotion and her dead parents. Wouldn't that be a shame?"

Caius removed his hand from his sword and glared at Noctis with renewed anger. "Did you plan on killing her as well?"

Noctis shrugged unfazed, "It was a possibility, but you interrupted me as is."

"Cold hearted bastard. I suppose you'll just kill everyone who isn't useful to you?"

"I imagine you'd be praying Yeul remains useful to me. You, however, are not useful. I found a replacement for you. Someone I've known for a very long time has taken your place."

"I've never heard of anyone you've known for a long time and have not killed or dragged into this mess of yours."

"This was a special case. Besides, I doubt she remembers our little adventure as children."

"As long as she keeps Yeul safe, I will accept her," Caius unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Noctis. "But I will keep my eye on you. If any harm befalls Yeul, your head will be payment."

"For now, though," Caius stepped back. "You're off the hook. I'm taking Lucy to an orphanage before you can get your filthy hands on her."

Noctis teleported back to his room in the hideout, not far from his targeted house. He was almost glad that Lucy girl was there, he wasn't sure if he'd have been able to beat Caius. His powers used a lot of energy and with Caius's ability, Noctis could've lost. His teleportation, like most of his abilities, took up a lot of energy as well and he collapsed onto his bed. With his bloodlust sated, he could hear himself think and remembered the time he met Light.

_His family rarely got to go on vacation, but somehow his parents had saved enough money for them to all go to Nautilus, the city of dreams. There were bright lights and colorful attractions everywhere, Noctis wanted to try them all. The scents of popcorn and caramel mingled in the air._

_The only down side was that all of his siblings were there too. It had been four hours since they had all entered the grand amusement park, yet they had done nothing Noctis wanted to yet._

"_Why don't we let Noctis choose the next ride?" his mother suggested in her kind voice._

"_He'll just choose something stupid. He always does," one of his older brothers commented. He then ran off and the others followed. Noctis stayed standing at the same spot. Why were they always so mean to him?_

"_Come on, dear," called his mother._

_With slow, slow steps, Noctis made his way to where his family was. He watched again as they enjoyed a ride he didn't want to go on, like always._

"_Aren't you having fun?" his mother asked after the ride was over._

_Noctis attempted to smile at her and say he was, but he couldn't, so he just shook his head._

"_It's probably hard to have fun knowing no one loves you!" his older brother once again chimed in._

"_People do love me!" cried Noctis, fighting tears. He balled up his tiny fists and swung them at his brother._

_His brother, much bigger than Noctis, laughed and punched Noctis's jaw. Noctis crashed against the cement, tears now flowing freely while his brother laughed and kicked him._

_Noctis felt his anger, sadness, and embarrassment build within him. Something inside him snapped, and a bright light accompanied his cries. He looked around to see swords moving of their own accord and slashing several people. Within moments, his older brother had been stabbed and coughed up his own blood._

_People everywhere were shrieking and running. Noctis saw a sword flying towards a family of four, parents with two pink haired girls. The older one was the closest to the sword and before anyone could react, a bright wall of lightning enveloped the girl and vanquished the self-flying sword._

_Once the smoke and lightning vanished, the older of the children looked to have been burnt by the strange defense. It must have tired her as well, for she fell to the floor moments after._

_Before Noctis knew what was happening, he was enveloped by soldiers. Tranquilized and picked up by one soldier, he lazily looked at the girl again and saw that she too was being carted away by soldier, much to the obvious dismay of her parents. Finally, weariness that Noctis could no longer bear swept over him and led him into deep depths of sleep._

_When he woke up, Noctis found that he was in a white room, devoid of decorations, and strapped to a hospital bed. Though, he was positive this wasn't a hospital._

_A woman entered from the only door, and Noctis noticed there were no windows in the room. He started to feel very claustrophobic. "Well, well, well," said the woman, with a smooth voice. "Looks like we have a little boy with some great power on our hands."_

_Soon, Noctis would learn to dread that woman's voice._

Noctis stretched and rolled onto his back. "Enough daydreaming for now," he told himself.

With a yawn, Noctis found a comfortable position and drifted off to sleep.

~~~Space~~~

Light couldn't help herself. In the morning, she had decided to go to the NORA hideout. She was careful to wear a hat, sunglasses, and a large overcoat. She just wanted –no needed- to see Serah again.

Satisfied that no one would know who she was, Light left and made her way to the bar that the girl with hardly any clothes on, _Lebreau, _Light corrected herself, tended to. It was a hotspot for NORA members, and locals, to hang out at.

As she walked, Light caught glimpses of herself in the windows of various stores. She almost didn't recognize herself. _Maybe I'll cut these strange black locks,_ she thought, keeping herself occupied through her journey with trivial matters.

The bar was crowded, as usual, but Light managed to find a spot to sit. It was a small table near one of the windows that she chose, but she could see most of the people in the bar. Ordering just water from the bar, she sat and waited to see Serah.

She must have started daydreaming at some point, because she did not hear anyone approaching. Turning her head, she was met with a sight that filled her with fear. Snow, standing tall with his hero grin and trench was standing beside her.

"A new costumer?" he asked cheerily.

Light nodded.

Snow gestured at the only other chair at her table. "May I?"

Light nodded again.

"Not very talkative, are you?" he asked.

Light shook her head.

"Are you here to join NORA? We fight crimes and have all sorts of fun adventures. I'm the leader and my fiancée is my second in command."

"I-I see," Light said, changing her voice slightly. Though she didn't think Snow would notice her solely by her voice.

"Well, are you?" Snow had a grin and an expectant look in his eyes.

Light hesitated, but nodded once again, immediately reprimanding herself for making such a foolish decision. _Way to go, becoming a criminal and a crime fighter. I'm sure that will go well._

"Great!" Snow laughed and stuck his hand out for Light to shake, which she unwillingly did. "I'm Snow. And you are?"

Light stuttered, "Uh, I-I'm…"

_I'm in deep shit._

__~~~Space~~~

A/N: Please, please, please review! Also, what should Light use as her alias in NORA? Any ideas? If so, please leave them in a review or PM me!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I don't own Final Fantasy.

~~~Space~~~

"Electra," Light said, struggling to keep her voice even and unrecognizable.

Snow slapped the table with a hearty chuckle. "Welcome aboard, Electra!" his boisterous voice bellowed.

Snow stood up and pulled Light up as well. "Come on, come on! I'll introduce you to the rest of the group!"

As much as Light disliked it, she went along with Snow and met people she already knew. She stuttered purposely, added a cough here and there, saying she was "sick" so her voice was a bit off that day.

Like usual, NORA was welcoming towards Light, greeting her with "hello", "how are you", and "nice to meet you". No one gave a second thought to Light, and for that she was thankful.

Fang, however, was a bit different from the others. She sat in a corner of the bar, drink in one hand, head propped up on the other. Vanille sat beside her, chattering merrily and animatedly. Both turned their attention to Light and Snow as they approached.

"Hey Fang, Vanille," Snow greeted with a nod.

"Hello!" chirped Vanille with her light accent. She tilted her head at Light. "A new person?"

"This is Electra," Snow said with a gesture towards her. "Electra, these two are Fang and Vanille."

"Nice to meet you!" said Vanille. Fang simply grunted and took a sip of her colored drink, likely containing alcohol.

Snow pat Light's back. "Don't worry, Fang has been a little upset after her best friend vanished for a second time. A lot of us have been upset. She was important to everyone, no matter how cold she was."

Light felt a surge of guilt. Fang? Drinking? She'd only seen that once or twice, and even then, never more than one drink. But judging from the colored glasses scattered around Fang like a demented rainbow, she had been drinking for a couple hours. At least, Light hoped that was the product of multiple hours.

"I can't tell you how, but Serah knows she's alive. We'll all be waiting here for her to come home and we'll welcome her with open arms. We'll have a party too!" Vanille added.

Fang snorted and turned her face away from the others, mumbling. Snow might not have heard her words, but Light did.

"As if she'll come home. You didn't know her at all… none of us did."

~~~Space~~~

What was it that went wrong?

Vanille stopped her stream of light-hearted conversation and looked at Fang. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing," Fang immediately responded. It was becoming natural now, to say "nothing" without thinking. _Was it this way for Claire too?_

It seemed like so long ago that she fought her best friend. Still, questions filled Fang's mind about that night.

_I would've helped you if you had let me, Claire…_

Fang took another sip of her drink, enjoying the burning sensation as it flowed down her throat. She believed this was the only thing to keep the burning from her eyes. This isn't the time to cry.

"Actually," Fang started. Vanille stopped talking immediately. "I think I'm going to head out early."

Fang saw the sadness in Vanille's eyes as she said that, but she wanted to be alone after meeting that Electra. Something about the girl was familiar. Vanille wouldn't have noticed, but Fang had hunting and detection in her blood. That blood was telling her Electra and Claire were somehow connected. Maybe she would talk to that Electra the next day.

"Oh, okay Fang," Vanille forced a smile, to others it may have looked real. Once it would to Fang too, but no longer. "I'll see you later then."

Fang nodded and, finishing her drink, left the bar for her own little apartment.

The couch felt especially welcoming today. Fang turned the news on, mostly for background noise. Maple and Cid were chatting about the new velocycles.

"_What's gotten into you?" Fang was growing desperate. The last face she expected to see behind the mask killing everyone in the ballroom was Claire, yet there she was._

"There are still no new leads about the mysterious woman that caused the Masquerade Massacre. Survivors claim to have only seen her mask and were unable to provide any details useful for identification when asked."

_Claire didn't respond. Fang kept her eyes locked with her best friend's. Deep inside them, Fang could see the sadness behind the emptiness. It was like someone had sucked the life out of those once bright eyes that most people saw as cold, but Fang always saw that warm, welcoming glint. It was gone now, though._

"Sergeant Claire Farron, after having been found for a few days, once again went missing and has remained so."

Fang looked at the picture of Claire displayed on the screen. She seemed so serene, sitting cross legged on the white couch in her uniform, gunblade lying on her lap. She stared directly into the camera with calm eyes and an expressionless face. Fang called that expressionless face "Sunshine's Soldier Mask".

"Seems Lady Luck isn't with her, wouldn't you say, Maple?"

"Indeed I would, Cid. It's always a shame when a young lady goes missing, especially when she's an important member of the Guardian Corps."

"I bet her smile would be beautiful, it's a downright shame that she isn't smiling in her picture."

"Her disappearance has surely left a void in the lives of those who knew her. Our hearts go out to them."

"Yes they do, Maple."

Maple and Cid continued talking, but Fang changed the channel. "It's even harder knowing where she likely is," she said to her empty apartment.

"_I'll go with you," Fang offered, she couldn't stand the thought of losing her best friend and she couldn't stand that best friend becoming a murderer._

"_I can't," was Claire's simple response._

Fang knows Claire says what she means, no more no less. Saying she can't really bothered Fang. It wasn't that she didn't _want_ Fang's help, she couldn't take it. Something held her back.

"What's keeping you, Claire?" Fang grumbled. None of it made sense to her. Claire would never leave Serah. She hoped that maybe Claire wouldn't leave her either, but Serah was her reason for living. Just as Vanille was her reason for living, and if it came down to having to choose between the girl that means the world to her, and her best friend. Well, she would be crushed, but Vanille would win out…_Is that what Claire's going through?_

Also, did she steal a Thunder Manadrive? Fang was certain she saw lightning sparking around that room. _Maybe she just snapped?_

Fang slapped herself. "She didn't!"

Sighing, she was out of ideas. However, the echo of a voice remained in her mind.

"_I'm sorry," said Claire, her voice sounded strained like she was trying to hide emotions threatening to overwhelm it. Fang felt a sudden pain, but it soon faded away as the darkness closed in._

"Your apology isn't accepted until you give me some answers, Sunshine… And they better be damn good answers."

~~~Space~~~

Noctis found himself staring into lackadaisical green eyes. "I need your help," he mumbled, unable to remember the last time he actually asked for assistance instead of forcing it.

Yeul raised her eyebrow, but said nothing. Noctis took it as his signal to continue. "I can't remember what happened after the Nautilus Massacre. I can't remember the last time I could remember what happened. I only know that it's something important."

Yeul nodded. Her eyes began to emit an ethereal glow and the area around Noctis changed.

_That high-pitched laugh pissed him off. Jihl Nabaat clapped her hands while Noctis panted from their latest test. "Bravo. You are indeed much more promising than the other one."_

_Each inhalation hurt Noctis, but he managed to gain enough breath to speak. "Who is the other one?" he asked. Inside, he hoped it was that girl with the pink hair. The one he had seen unconscious just before he entering a similar state._

"_Oh," Jihl walked closer to Noctis, each step accentuated by the heels of her boots. She kneeled down in front of him and smiled. It was the first time Noctis had seen a smile so cold and uncaring, but not the last time he would ever see it. "Perhaps I've said too much? It is classified PSICOM knowledge, after all."_

"_Just tell me!" Noctis shouted as blades manifested. The swords spun around him for a moment before disappearing. Noctis fell to the ground in exhaustion._

"_There's a good boy. If you cooperate, I may just give you the information you desire," Jihl stood and gave one command to the two other soldiers in the room before leaving the room herself. "Get him back to his bed, would you? Remember, make the straps nice and tight. We wouldn't want him escaping, now would we?"_

"_Understood!"_

'_I wonder what her name is…' The image of the girl with electricity buzzing around her occupied Noctis's mind._

~~~Space~~~

After introducing her to everyone, Snow left Light to do as she wished, saying he had some important matters to attend to. While she didn't question what kind of matters, Light was still curious. _Maybe it's something to do with Serah._

Light stared into a glass of water. She couldn't tell if the reflection was staring back, she did have sunglasses on, but still, it just wasn't her in that reflection.

_Maybe they're working on their wedding? They are engaged after all._

Light felt an incredible sadness grip her heart and had to use all of her willpower to not clasp the fabric of her shirt to try to settle the feeling. _Would they really have their wedding without me?_

Even though she wasn't fond of Snow, when Serah announced their engagement, simultaneously asking for Light's blessing, Light imagined the day as being full of Serah's smiles and her being near Serah to see it.

Now, to imagine Serah's grand wedding day without her there sent a pain through Light's heart. Surely that wasn't the case, right?

Shaking her head, Light almost chuckled to herself. _I don't even know if that's what Snow went to do. I'm simply being paranoid._

A few moments passed and Light was about to get up and leave the bar. Serah had not shown up and she didn't want the Nightingales to realize where exactly she was. Before she left her seat, a bubbly redhead set herself next to Light, much to the latter's dismay.

"Hello!"

Vanille's high-pitched voice was not what Light wanted to hear at that moment. In fact, the farther away from the redheaded girl and NORA, the better off she would be. But, deep inside, she felt a longing to stay. _Just for a little while._

Light met Vanille's green eyes, always so full of excitement and glee. _Just a little while, for Vanille._

Light nodded her greeting.

"Your name's Electra, right?" Vanille asked with genuine curiosity.

Light nodded again. Even though she said no words, Vanille never showed any signs of discontent.

"That's a very unusual name. I like it!"

"T-thanks," Light mumbled. She felt absolutely absurd stuttering and faking her voice, but she knew that if she didn't want anyone to know she's truly Claire, she better shut up and bear it. It was like when Light told a new GC recruit that instead of complaining about the training, he should bear with it or bear with her gunblade shoved so far up his ass he can taste. He didn't complain near her ever again.

It took a lot of effort not to smirk at the memory.

"I've never seen you around this part of town before, did you just move here?"

Another nod.

"Oh, why's that?"

"Work."

"What's your job?"

"I, uh, I do odd jobs," Light took a sip of her water, using it as an excuse not to maintain eye contact with Vanille for a moment.

"That sounds like fun! Is it fun?"

"It's not really my thing…"

"Are you looking for a different job?"

"You could say that."

Vanille continued to ask questions, and even though most answers were blunt, she seemed satisfied. The only time her smile faltered was when she asked Light about family, to which the reply was that they're dead. (It was mostly true, Serah was the only living relative of Light.)

After about an hour of Vanille's interrogation, Light excused herself. She made sure to be polite and thanked Vanille for the conversation, said they should talk again, etc.

Light felt a little happier after talking to Vanille, not that she would admit it, but she was still disappointed that she wasn't able to see Serah. _Maybe next time._

~~~Space~~~

_Noctis was strapped to a device he did not like. It was cold. He was burning._

_His head was drooping down now, but he knew that Jihl Nabaat and her lackeys were standing on the side of the room across from him, the former likely sporting a polite, but terrifying, grin._

_Countless wires were attached to him and made their way to the machines near Nabaat. With one press of a button, Nabaat could send electricity straight to Noctis. Usually it was done for thirty seconds, with a five minute resting period between each shocking period. Nabaat claimed it was an exercise to test Noctis's stamina and resistance. He personally believed it was for their own pleasure. That they envied him because he could use powers freely that they could not. They looked at him as something that wasn't human, and therefore inferior._

_They were currently in the middle of a resting period. Noctis was already out of breath, gasping as much air as possible despite the constant pain and occasional twitches. Sweat dripped down his face and back. 'Please end it soon,' he pleaded in his mind._

"_Now, now. If you're still conscious after this one, I'll take you to see that girl you're so curious about."_

_Noctis found the strength to lift his head from the statement and stared into Nabaat's eyes. 'Why not just kill her now?' he wondered. 'Find out where the girl is first, and then escape with her in tow.'_

_With his plan in mind, Noctis felt prepared for the electricity shooting through him moments later. This time he didn't scream. He maintained eye contact with Nabaat the entire time. Slowly, her grin faded and she seemed nervous. He was glad._

_One of Nabaat's lackeys had to carry Noctis, but she kept true to her word and took Noctis to the pink haired girl's room. 'S002' was written by the doorframe. Noctis made sure the identification was engraved in his brain._

_The girl was strapped to her bed, unconscious, and appeared to be a little worse for wear. "She's not been able to call upon her powers again. So we've had to attempt to draw them out. Shame, she could avoid punishment by cooperating," Nabaat commented nonchalantly._

_Noctis spent the next few days truly trying during their studies. He wanted to be able to rescue the girl and himself. To do so, he needed a form of attack and a form of protection. His powers provided just that._

_Even when he was in his room, he would practice. Use the swords as a barrier. Conjure one more sword, then another, until there were double digit numbers of swords surrounding him. He couldn't care less if PSICOM was watching him in his room. If they were, it was never mentioned. Maybe they kept it a secret, so as to not make him stop using his powers in 'secret'. Maybe it was how they recorded the true progress of his power. _

_It didn't matter. What did matter were the small updates about the girl that Nabaat gave him every now and again. "She hasn't made nearly as much project as you. In fact, she hasn't made any progress at all."_

"_It seems she can only use her powers under life and death circumstances at this point. It makes it difficult because you two are too precious to die. Especially you, my prized subject."_

"_She doesn't eat much anymore, only what we force her to eat."_

"_Now she hardly eats at all, even when we try to force her. She does sleep an awful lot though."_

_With each statement, Noctis would grow more and more worried. He knew that the time he had to get them both out of the horrible PSICOM facility alive was growing shorter and shorter. His chances of escaping were high. Each day, he was given a little more privilege, nicer food, more food, clean clothes, showers, blankets, and much more. His room that once looked like a hospital room now resembled a bedroom. He was certain that it wasn't the case for the girl._

_It was during the night that Noctis decided to make his move. The restraints still kept him on his bed, but they were much looser now. It didn't matter anyway, Noctis focused on a point of the room near the door and summoned his power. He appeared at the spot a moment later. He repeated the same process, with a bit more difficulty. To get outside of the room, he had to focus on a clear image of the space outside of the room._

_He walked down the hallway, making sure he didn't make much noise. He knew where the girl's room was, he had been taken there a couple of time, though he never entered it. Once he had found the door labeled with 'S002', he focused on the image of the bed with the girl sleeping, he hoped, peacefully._

_Inside the room, he could tell that the girl was fairly injured. Even in the dim light that glowed in the room, he could see her cuts and bruises. She was extremely thin and pale._

_The straps were binding her to the bed tightly. Noctis slid one arm under her shoulders and the other under her knees. He had never tried teleporting with someone else, but it wasn't about to stop him from doing so now. Besides, breaking the straps was out of the question, they would probably set off an alarm. 'One more time,' Noctis thought before focusing on the hallway once again._

_To his delight, Noctis appeared in the hallway with the girl in his arms. To his dismay, the girl was much lighter than she should be. He really wished he knew her name, then he could stop thinking of her as 'the girl'. Right now, though, his top priority was to escape their torture. They could survive the world together, search for others like them._

_Travelling to the first floor of the facility was simple. PSICOM was very organized and had many signs and directions scattered throughout the hallways. On the first floor, there were guards by the door to the exit, not surprising. What was surprising was how few guards he saw during his travel to the first floor. Just one or two on patrol that he could easily avoid, which to him was better than fighting when he had two lives to protect._

_These guards couldn't be avoided, he knew that. So, summoning swords for a barrier and swords for attack, Noctis went around the corner towards the guards and his salvation. The second he moved, he sent his swords at the guards, they didn't notice until it was too late and couldn't even utter a scream._

_Noctis set the girl down for only a moment, long enough to retrieve a pass card from a guard to open the door without turning the alarm on, before picking her back up and opening the door._

_Once outside, he took a large inhale of the fresh air. Knowing that he shouldn't stay near the building for too long, he set off to the only place he knew to go. Home, the empty building that he grew up in._

_Returning home just as dawn came, Noctis felt relief like never before. Adrenaline still pumped though his veins, so resigning himself to the fact that he would be unable to get any sleep he set the girl on his parents' bed. It was large and had many blankets and pillows. She would be comfortable, Noctis always was when he would sleep on that bed with his parents after having a nightmare._

_Noctis pulled a chair next to the bed. He brushed the girl's bangs from her battered face. They were both a little beat up, her more-so than him, but he could fix that when she woke up. For now, a break would be okay. They could plan what to do with their lives later. He hoped that the girl didn't tell PSICOM her name, he knew he didn't. It would make it harder to find people when they didn't know who they were looking for. The Guardian Corps was the branch that kept records of the locals. PSICOM could only access them with good reasons and proof. Wanting test subjects back was not a good reason and the proof isn't something PSICOM would want out of their facility. "Finally, some luck," Noctis mumbled._

_With a sigh, Noctis felt the excitement draining from him. He looked at the girl's peaceful, yet bruised, face before closing his eyes. "I'll protect you. I won't let anyone else hurt you again… promise," said Noctis, before drifting into dreamless sleep._

Noctis blinked a few times before Yeul came into focus. He felt unbearable regret and guilt. How could he have forgotten making a promise? He knew now that the girl is Lightning.

Noctis pinched the bridge of his nose. Yeul stayed nearby, waiting to either continue the memory or to just leave. Sighing, Noctis looked at Yeul. "I fucked up, didn't I?"

Yeul nodded and decided it was time to leave the man to his thoughts.

Noctis felt the headache coming. He didn't remember how he was separated from Light after that, but it likely had to do with her family, as they were still all alive at the point… to the best of his knowledge. _What am I supposed to do?_

Even that horrible Jihl Nabaat kept her words. When she said she'd give Noctis information, gifts, or let him see Light, she did exactly that. Noctis had always thought himself better than PSICOM, despite his criminal activity. He didn't run rampant though, he set up robberies when they needed money or something needed to disappear, or murders when some_one_ needed to disappear. Kidnapping and torturing Light was the first time he had set up something of that manner, and mostly because that bastard Caius left Yeul all by herself when she needs to be protected during battle.

_First, get rid of PSICOM._ It seemed reasonable enough. Maybe he'd send in Ignis to retrieve information. He knew that PSICOM was the cause of everything that happened to them and likely knew why they had these powers. They certainly had enough time to research it since the time Noctis and Light were captured to now. _Did they ever find others like us in that time? It's not as though we would be able to tell. We don't know who has powers until we come in close contact with them._ It was Noctis who, one day while passing Light on the street, realized she had power in her and then had Prompto observe her afterwards.

At that time, he had no memory of everything that happened after the Nautilus Massacre. Therefore, any method was free game to get her to join. He didn't want to resort to violent methods or to threatening her family. But he had to make her fear him since she was not cooperating. He had to use those methods to ensure the safety of his family, of Yeul.

_PSICOM first. I'll work on things with Light along the way. Besides, I don't know if she remembers that time either. After PSICOM is taken care of, well, I'll figure it out when the time comes._ Noctis left his room to settle in the main room, waiting for Light to return from wherever she had gone.

_Let it be said that Noctis Caelum is a man who keeps his promises._

__~~~Space~~~

A/N: Special thanks to Axel780 for the name Electra!

Why not make a writer's day and leave a review? Thanks for reading!


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Sorry it took so long, but here it is! Enjoy and remember, I don't own Final Fantasy.

~~~Space~~~

She was used to the creaking of the old door by now and, as the days turned colder in Eden, was grateful for the warm it held beyond its threshold. She allowed herself a small smile as the warmth enveloped her and she removed her coat, hat, and glasses, placing the coat and hat on the coat rack. The sunglasses she kept in her hand. It was strange thinking that this place which was slowly becoming her home housed criminals, herself included.

Light's head snapped towards the couch in the living room when she heard a man clear his throat. Placing a closed book on the seat next to him, Noctis stood and strode towards Light. In an attempt to escape, Light backed up to the front door, the only exit available to her. Any remnant of her smile had vanished.

Noctis picked up his pace and clasped his left hand on the doorknob before Light could. His right hand was pressed against the wall near Light's left shoulder. She was caged in and wanted nothing more than to be somewhere else, anywhere else. She could feel her breathing quicken and every muscle seemed to have frozen.

She kept her eyes locked on his, searching for any warning that harm would come to her. However, she didn't find the malice she had seen in his eyes all of those other times. Now they were like the wisps of smoke wandering aimlessly after the feeble flame of a candle has been extinguished. What took that malice's place, she didn't know. But it was the absence of that malice that gave Light the strength to stay where she was. _Better to die a proud fool than to live a coward._

In the time it took Noctis to open his mouth and utter a single word, a thousand possibilities ran through Light's mind. _Did he find out I was at NORA? Does he have a new request of me?_ But the one that nagged the most in her mind was, _is Serah still safe?_

Much to her relief, Noctis truly inquired, "Do you remember anything from the Nautilus Massacre?" His tone wasn't demanding. In fact, his tone was quiet and seemed empty. There was no hate or anger behind his words as there had been every other time Light had heard him speak.

"The Nautilus Massacre?" Light repeated.

Noctis nodded. "I'm certain you know what it is, everyone does. But what do you know about it that no one else does?"

Light furrowed her brow in confusion. "Does it even matter?"

Noctis' mouth curled down at the corners. "_Yes._ Something very important happened, but you have to remember it for yourself."

"Important for me or important for you?"

"Important for our future."

Light swiftly ducked under Noctis' arms and made her way to her room. "There isn't one," she said just before leaving his grasp.

~~~Space~~~

Inside her room, Light locked the door behind her and sat on the floor with her back against it. _The Nautilus Massacre?_

Light racked her brain but couldn't think of anything that would be as important as Noctis would have made it seem.

_All around, she saw bright, colorful lights. She could hear the screams of joy, some of fear, and the laughter of those who chose to ride the roller coasters, known as the best in Cocoon. The smell of caramel corn teased her nose and made her hungry. Everything was interrupted when screams of horror reached her ears. Gunshots rang out and Claire turned to face the direction she heard them come from. "Mom? Dad? What's going on?" she cried out._

So she was at Nautilus during the massacre. It didn't really mean anything. What could Noctis want with that information?

_She turned her head and saw a sword flying straight at her. She wrapped her arms around Serah and prepared for the worst. As her skin burn as if it were being licked by flames, she assumed she had been hit by the sword. Oddly enough, there wasn't a stabbing pain as she imagined there would be when someone is impaled with a sharp object._

_Gathering her courage, she looked at where the sword had been coming from and saw a field of electricity had shielded not only her, but her family as well from the oncoming blade._

"That was the first time I used my power?" Light asked herself in confusion. "That can't be right."

_The electrical field dissipated and left Light feeling absolutely drained of energy. As the darkness crept into her field of vision, she felt the weightlessness of being lifted in someone's arms and commanding voices._

"Was it the paramedics? I was in the hospital for awhile after that incident, but if the sword was deflected, why was I in the hospital at all?"

_The first thing she recognized was a voice. While the voice was not familiar, Light realized that she was not alone, that the darkness she had been in was just her mind._

"_- More days."_

"_What should we do until then, ma'am?"_

"_Work on the boy's development. A small delay shouldn't be a problem. After all, we have all the time in the world now."_

"_Ma'am."_

_The voices faded into footsteps that faded into silence. Light felt something holding her down. When she finally opened her tired eyes, she saw the straps holding her to the bed. In a state of panic, she struggled against the straps only to exhaust herself. Light stayed in her panicked state until someone finally came into her room. Though, after she met the woman, she realized she would've rather stayed in her state of panic or state of unconsciousness._

_The next sections of her memories were jumbled and unclear. Pain and exhaustion were the most she could distinguish. Until one morning when she no longer felt the weight of the restraints pulling her down. She was laying on something soft and someone was holding her hand._

_She opened her eyes and saw Noctis, as a child, sitting beside her, fast asleep._

"How did I end up with Noctis after that?" Lightning wondered. That was one gap in her memories, but there was another. She knew that she was in a true hospital after the massacre. Her family visited her. She also knew that after she was released from the hospital, her relationship with her dad changed drastically.

It felt as if someone had their hands wrapped around her throat. In a blur, all her memories came rushing back. Her father beating her, calling her a monster and he threatened Serah throughout it too.

So that's why she was happy when his heart stopped beating suddenly. Something seemed off about that too.

Lightning took deep breaths. She felt a familiar spark in her heart: determination. She was this far into remembering why she is who she is that she would not give up now.

"_What do you want?" the man spat. His hair was graying and his eyes held no love for the pink haired child standing before him._

"_Well?" he demanded?_

"_I… I just…"_

Smack.

_Light felt her cheek burning and her father towered over her. Tears stung her eyes, but she refused to cry for this man's satisfaction._

"_Why?" she cried out. "Why do you hate me when you love Serah so much? What's different between us!?"_

"_Serah isn't a monster," he said bluntly._

_Lightning's breath stopped in her throat. She felt no more desire to cry. She no longer felt the sting of her father's slap. She no longer felt at all. "A monster?"_

_Electricity bubbled around her. This was the second time she had ever felt the sensation. Only this time it wasn't for protecting her family. This time, the power was drawn from hate._

_Lightning took slow steps towards her father. He backed up, but unfortunately for him, the closed door was behind Lightning. He was trapped._

"_I'll show you what a real monster is like!" Lightning condensed the electricity into her right hand. When she was an arms-length away, she placed her palm over her father's heart. It stopped beating._

_The electricity faded and Light ran out of the room. She told her mother that _his _heart had stopped beating. Her mother ran to the room full of distress. She called for medics, but he was dead long before they arrived. They said he must have gone into cardiac arrest, but could never find a reason for it._

_Lightning knew her mother knew what her father did, but she never held it against her. While she didn't cry, she didn't hold it against her mother and Serah when they did. He had been nice to them. He had been a father to Serah, even if she didn't know her older sister was acting as her shield. Somehow, she never really believed he'd hurt Serah, even if he threatened to. Serah wasn't a monster._

"I'm the monster."

Lightning blinked a few times. She had used her powers three times total before becoming a Nightingale. The thought amazed her. Her helplessness and distress from being a forced part of the Nightingales no longer existed. She would protect Serah and Yeul and that was that. Maybe she could learn to enjoy her job.

She smirked. _I am a monster after all._

She never knew that, on the other side of her door, Noctis stood and listened. She never knew that, as she relived her past in her mind, he felt hope in his heart that she would feel safer around him. He did save her once, for what it worth.

~~~Space~~~

A week had passed. Under the cover of night, the Nightingales stood outside of a jewelry shop. Noctis had explained the plan to them earlier. They would draw as much attention as possible and grab as much merchandise as possible. He would take care of selling the jewels to use a funding for their PSICOM's end project.

Lightning wore a black skirt over black shorts. Her gunblade was holstered and resting against the back of her legs. Noctis had managed to procure black boots with a metal plate in the front of them, similar to her soldier boots. These boots, however, had two metal pieces each and went above her knees. There was one metal plate on her shins and one above her knees, covering half of her femur. She wore the black vest from Noctis over a black half turtleneck. Her navel piercing glinted from the streetlights now and then. She no longer had her half cape, though she mentally noted to find one, likely black. On her hands were gloves. They, too, were black and modified like her boots had been. Both gloves, instead of one, reached past her elbows and both had metal plates that, instead of covering only the back of her hands, covered her entire forearm.

She was told to wear black to blend in with the darkness. Yes they wanted to draw attention, but they didn't want to paint themselves too badly as targets. Many of them wore masks with their attire. Yeul had given Lightning the mask she wore. It reminded her of the theater symbol she'd seen during her years at high school. One half was a smiling face, the other was frowning. One half was black and the other was white. She was amazed that she could see as well as she could with the mask on.

"Ready?" Noctis asked. He looked at each member, moving his focus to the next only after receiving acknowledgement. Lightning nodded like the others, and Noctis' gaze stayed on her for a moment longer before moving on.

She had hardly talked to the man since he asked her to remember the massacre. He seemed to be giving her space to figure things out, and for that, she was grateful. She no longer felt resentful towards him, though the feeling would resurface occasionally, it wasn't nearly as strong. She just felt the renewed desire to protect Serah at all costs, but now Yeul had been added to that list for protection as well.

"Then, here we go." A dozen swords swirled around Noctis before they separated and pointed at the glass. The dim lights caressing the blades made them look all the more deadly. The breeze from the swirling blades ruffled Noctis' midnight locks… Lightning turned her attention to the glass to keep her thoughts in check. Half of the swords crashed into the glass, scattering the shards like flower petals.

They knew what to do, everyone ran into the store through the opened space and started breaking open the cases. They took handfuls of the merchandise as automatic alarms blared around them. They had retrieved more than necessary by the time the Guardian Corps arrived. "Gave us plenty of breathing room this time, didn't they?" called out Prompto, laughing.

"Time for the real fun now," Gladiolus added, brandishing his sword.

They ran out of the store, not even considering running away. Lightning stood close to Yeul. The Guardian Corps soldiers fired at the criminals and shouted orders to each other. A few soldiers rushed forwards with close ranged weapons. Noctis used his swords to take out groups of the soldiers at a time. Prompto had set up a nest for himself just inside the store and sniped at the back lines of soldiers. Keeping an eye out for enemies sneaking up on the Nightingales was his job, but in between his checks of the members, he decided to take out some of the soldiers himself.

Gladiolus was in the fray of the enemies, hacking with his sword. Lightning had met the member named Ignis once or twice, but he wasn't present during this theft. Noctis said he was working on a much more important job, but no one ever told her what his power is. She didn't even know what Gladiolus' power is, he looked fairly normal fighting the soldiers. Then she saw it, Gladiolus' ability. The soldiers around him fell to the ground and seemed to be struggling to stand up, like there were anvils on top of them. He can contort gravity around himself.

Lightening saw a group of four soldiers approaching her and Yeul. They walked leisurely. "We always get stuck with the easy ones," said one member.

"Yeah," agreed another. "This will be a piece of cake. I wonder how they even got into the top criminal organization. They're just weak women."

"The tall one probably got in on her back!" The soldiers laughed.

Light narrowed her eyes. They were only halfway to them, when two soldiers froze in place. One glance at Yeul told Light that those soldiers would not return normal.

"Hey!" The two other soldiers noticed their companions' plight and rushed towards Yeul. Light stepped in front of Yeul and drew her gunblade out in blade form. "Isn't that a?"

"Yes, it's a Blazefire saber."

"But how?"

Light grinned at their expressions. _I have one because I was a soldier too._

The soldiers had their standard blades out and slashed at Lightning. She easily parried their attack and sent electricity through her blade, prompting the soldiers to disengage and step back.

"The fuck is that?"

"Hell if I know."

The soldiers and Light circled each other.

"Only the best soldiers receive a Blazefire saber. Where'd you get that, criminal?"

"It was given to me," Light replied.

"You took it from a soldier, didn't you!?"

Light shrugged. "Believe what you wish. I have a job to do."

Light charged the men, lightning coating her blade. The first soldier parried her attack and was stunned by the electricity. Light took the opportunity to finish him. While she had intended to knock him out, her hand unconsciously stabbed her blade into the man's throat. Blood gushed out of the man's throat and mouth and the electrical charge from the blade captured him in a horrible dance of death. He fell to the ground with a thud, still spasming a few times. Light turned her attention to the second soldier, who was now trembling.

"Are you going to take his weapon too?"

"I told you, this weapon was given to me," Light figured that killing this man would be no different from killing the other man, so it didn't matter how much about herself she revealed.

"You were a soldier?" The thought seemed to bring hope to the man's eyes, but it vanished quickly. "How can you kill other soldiers? We're your brothers in arms!"

Light put the tip of her blade to the man's throat. New lightning began to wrap around it as the next charge gained power. In the distance, she heard the other two soldiers scream and collapse. _Yeul must have finished them off, even if they appear physically unharmed._

"A target's a target."

The man dropped his weapon and fell to his knees. "Please, I don't want to die!" he begged.

Lightning gripped his hair in one hand then, looking away, ran her blade across his throat, severing his head from his body. Yeul had stepped beside her by this point and nodded. "It will be over soon. Most of the soldiers focus on Noctis, he is the prominent figure of crime, and Noctis can dispose of large groups at one time. There aren't many left."

Light looked at the remaining soldiers. They were terrified, but they weren't about to disobey orders and kept attacking. They called for reinforcements, but Light knew they wouldn't arrive in time.

She lifted the head in her hand and threw it at the remaining soldiers, infusing it with enough power that it shot like a lightning bolt at the men and few women. Their screams of surprise and fear penetrated the air. The man hit directly by the "lightning head" was on the ground, dead or injured.

"No need to worry, the heroes have arrived!" cried a voice Light did not want to be here at the moment.

Snow, followed by other NORA members, ran into the fight. "No, this is bad."

Yeul nodded her agreement. She then pointed out something that made Light's heart stop. With her bow in hand, Serah was intent on fighting as well. "No…"

Light scanned her surroundings for Noctis and was thankful he wasn't too far away. He had just finished off another group of soldiers. His swords left the bodies and hovered around Noctis, dripping blood. As soon he noticed Light approaching, he teleported over to her.

"What are you doing?" he asked. She hadn't heard malice in his voice since he pinned her to the door, the thought still sent chills down her spine.

"Serah and Snow are here. You better remember our deal."

Noctis rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. He placed his hands on Light's shoulders and met her eyes. "I won't touch them. I know."

Light smiled ever so slightly. "Thank you."

Noctis nodded. "Now, back to business." He disappeared again and reappeared farther away.

Light took Yeul a bit away from the battle. Yeul would still be able to attack. Light would too, but not as powerfully as she could in close combat.

"Do you improvise often?" Light asked.

"Every time I attack, it is improvised. I don't know what people fear until I'm in their mind and then I can use it against them."

"And that's how you get stronger, right? Learning new tricks with these powers."

"Like that head toss of yours, new tricks keeps the enemy guessing. You were a soldier, weren't you? You must already know."

"Just making sure it applies to free magic as well. Mana drives are quite… limited."

Light could see Snow. He lifted up a charred head and looked across the street at Light. "Did you do this!?" he called.

Light lifted her blade to fight. Snow tossed the head to the ground and ran at her. "I'll take that as a yes!"

Light knew Snow's fighting style: charge in, guns blazing.

She ducked under his punch. "Get back!" she yelled to Yeul.

Yeul obeyed and ran into the store, settling herself by Prompto. "Don't worry, Light! I'll keep her safe."

Light nodded. "Thanks."

She turned her attention back to Snow. He was hovering over the bodies of the soldiers she'd killed earlier. "Did you do this too?"

He didn't wait for an answer before charging again, throwing punch after punch. Light dodged each and all of them. She never made an attempt to harm or even hit the behemoth man. "Need a hand, Light?" Prompto asked, sounding concerned that she wasn't hitting the man.

Light shook her head and Prompto didn't say anything more.

"What's wrong?" Snow asked between punches. "Why won't you attack me?"

"I'm not about to hurt you."

"Why? What's the difference between me and those soldiers?"

Light flipped back away from Snow's attack. Snow froze. "That fighting style…"

Silently, Light cursed herself. She knew Snow wouldn't catch her voice, but she never expected him to recognize her fighting style.

"It couldn't be," Snow mumbled. He stepped towards Light slowly. "Sis?"

"I'm not your sister."

"_Looks like you're going to be my sister," Snow was grinning from ear to ear with his arm wrapped around Serah, who was also grinning from ear to ear. They had just announced their engagement to Light. She was not impressed. She had never liked her sister's monster of a boyfriend._

"_I'm not your sister."_

_Snow laughed. "Not yet, but you will be soon."_

"_Not ever." Light walked out of the room._

"Claire, it is you, isn't it?" Snow looked torn between joy and anger. She didn't blame him. She would feel the same if she lost her sister only to find her as a criminal.

"It doesn't matter."

"It does matter!" he roared and charged into Light. She felt her back slam into the wall between shops. Snow pinned her so she wouldn't be able to escape. "Claire!"

Light looked Snow dead in the eyes, "Claire's dead."

"You're lying," Snow shook his head. He lifted his hand and took off Light's mask, he threw it to the side. It was retrieved by Yeul, who then ran back towards Prompto.

"See?" Snow asked. "Claire's not dead, you're Claire."

Light shook her head. "Once, but no longer."

"Come home. Every minute you're gone, Serah grows sadder. She misses you so much. We all do," Snow threw Light over his shoulder and started walking towards the NORA members who use long distance weapons, despite her punching his back.

_What, is his back made of steel or something? _He never even flinched.

"Let me go!" she cried. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Then, don't," Snow said.

"You don't understand, I can't leave."

Snow stopped. "Well why not? Just let me take you to NORA. You'll have left at that point. Simple enough."

"Serah's life in on the line, Snow," Light said through clenched teeth. Snow finally dropped Light to her feet when she said that.

"What do you mean? Why didn't you say something earlier?" Snow shook Light by her shoulders.

"Because, I'm the only one who can prevent harm from coming to her," Light snapped. "And you can't say a word about it to anyone, understand?"

"Yeah. But Claire, why is that preventing you from coming home?" Snow looked like a lost puppy. She knew he only wanted to make Serah happy.

"It's so you and Serah can live a long, happy life. I can handle myself."

"But—"

"No. It's enough Snow. Just promise me you'll protect Serah from anything, whether I fail or succeed."

Snow gave Light his hero grin. "We're the heroes aren't we? I'll protect her with my life."

"Good."

In a flurry of blades, Noctis appeared between Light and Snow. "Is there a problem?"

Snow clenched his fists. "You're the Prince… Let Claire go!"

Noctis looked over his shoulder at Light. He tilted his head. "She's not being forced to stay anymore, are you?"

Light glared at Noctis and saw him flinch slightly. "Not. At. All."

"See?" Noctis said, looking back at Snow. "Now that that's settled, run along."

"You did something to her! I don't know what, but I'll find out!"

_He's either a decent actor, or a complete idiot… or both._

Noctis' blades pointed at Snow. "Better hurry up, I don't often let people escape. However, I am a man of my word, believe it or not."

Snow glared, for the first time Light's seen, at Noctis before turning and running back to NORA's members. He moved enough that Serah could see his opponents. Her eyes widened and she dropped her weapon.

Serah began to run towards Light and Noctis. "Claire!" she shrieked.

Tears were already starting to flow down her face. "Get away from my sister, you fiend!"

"No, this is bad," Light started to take a dew steps forward. She was stopped when Noctis put his arm in front of her. He stared into her light eyes with his dark ones. "Stay here," he said.

Within a moment, Light saw the worst image she could ever imagine. Noctis had teleported behind Serah, and his fists were clenched, ready to strike.

"No!" Light cried as she ran to her sister. She wasn't going to make it; she knew she wouldn't be fast enough.

_Noctis… you promised._

__~~~Space~~~

A/N: Hmm, wonder what happens next. Review, review, review. What do you thing will happen next?

Also, check the poll on my profile and vote!


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: I'm trying my best to make updates more frequent/ more consistent? I believe that's the word I'm looking for. Anyway, for the SnowxSerah fans out there there's a nice bit of this chapter for you to enjoy, but I hope all of you find at least one thing in this chapter to enjoy.

Also, please check out the poll on my profile which should be working now. Madness is not done yet, but at some point it will end and I want to know if there's still interest for an In Valhalla continuation. Haven't read it? It's a one shot you can find over on my profile.

Now, for the main event.

~~~Space~~~

Noctis was behind Serah, and there was nothing that Light or Snow could do about it. It didn't matter how quickly they ran towards her, she was too far away.

Noctis wrapped one arm around Serah's waist from behind. In his other hand, he summoned one of his countless swords and placed its sharpened edge right in front of the small girl's throat. "Best for you two to stop where you are," Noctis threatened, blade closing the already miniscule distance between its edge and vulnerable flesh.

Light slide to a stop and saw Snow doing the same. They were close enough to hear each other without yelling, which worked in Noctis' favor. Looking around, Light noticed that the rest of NORA was too preoccupied with Gladiolus, Prompto, Yeul, and taking care of the wounded soldiers to notice Serah in Noctis' grasp.

In the moment of silence, while Noctis' eyes flickered from Light to Snow to Serah and back again (they softened slightly each time he looked at Light), Light could hear her heart pounding in her chest. Though, from the look of pure terror on her face and the tears streaming down, it could have very well been the sound of Serah's heart beat.

_I swear to any gods and goddesses who exist that if you draw a single drop of blood, Noctis, I will end you._

~~~Space~~~

Noctis readjusted his grip on his sword. He wasn't completely sure what he was getting himself into, but if the look Light was giving him was any indicator, he was running straight into his death. If it were Light that ripped his heart from his chest though, he wouldn't mind at all. The disembodied organ, he was sure, would keep beating as long as she kept it near.

It was a plan he concocted on the fly, a way to keep both sisters in line, instead of just blackmailing the one. At least that way he wouldn't have to worry about waking up in the morning and finding Light missing. He lost her once, he didn't want to lose her again if he could help it.

"What a… lovely little family, wouldn't you say?" he asked in his practiced, even voice. Of course, nobody dared answer.

He pulled Serah a little closer. Her head was tilted up, as far away from the blade as she could get it. "We'd like to keep it that way, wouldn't we?"

Light nodded, which was the reaction the Noctis had expected from her. Snow's reaction; however, was completely differently from what he'd thought. He'd been expecting Snow to charge at him.

Instead, the large man fell to his knees. His hands were outstretched in front of him. Noctis raised an eyebrow at the action. The man appeared to be bowing… to him? "Please. I'll do anything. Just… don't hurt Serah," Snow pleaded.

_That makes this even easier._

"Her sister remains with us. You will not take her and she will not run."

"Deal," Light said, without hesitation.

Noctis could feel Serah trembling in his arms like a cold puppy. "No, Sis!" she sniffled. "Snow, do something."

The large man sighed and lifted his head so his eyes could meet Serah's ocean blue eyes. "Serah, there's nothing I can do."

"Don't let her make this decision."

"At the cost of your life?" Snow stood from the ground. He glanced momentarily at Light then returned his gaze to Serah. Noctis saw the love in his eyes and wondered if he could ever have the chance to love so freely. One glance at Light stopped his heart and told him that he would do for her exactly what Snow was doing for Serah. If only he could prove to her he is trying his best to mean it…

_It'd just be a weakness,_ echoed the dark voice in his head. The sound of the voice brought with it an immense feeling of bloodlust. It took every bit of Noctis' willpower to not cut open Serah's throat for sweet, crimson blood. Just when he thought the voice had left him for good too.

Snow held his hand out to shake Light's. "I'm sorry, Sis, but I just can't bet Serah's life for your freedom."

Light swatted his hand away. "I never asked you to."

Snow put his hand down. "Right…"

Noctis cleared his throat to draw the attention back to him. "I believe it'd be best for you to leave now, Light," he said. _The moment I release my grip on Serah is the moment that they could choose to spirit her, and themselves, away._

"Alright, _Prince," _he could hear the venom in her voice, and for a moment thought himself poisoned from the feeling of pain in his heart. "But if you break any promises… well, you'll find out what will happen."

Light sheathed her blade, collected Yeul, and left for the hideout, checking every now and then to ensure no one was pursuing them.

Noctis sighed a breath of relief mentally. Outwards, he kept his visage stoic. He pressed the knife a little closer to Serah's throat, the sharp edge threatening to draw blood. _These two stand between Light being by my side forever or her leaving my side forever. Light is under my control, if these two are also, then I'll have nothing to worry about._

"We've agreed to your deal. Will you let Serah go now?" Snow asked anxiously.

"I don't know," Noctis replied. "Is there anything she's worth keeping for?"

"N-no!" Serah objected. Noctis felt a familiarly strange presence: the presence of unreleased magic bubbling to the surface. _Probably just my imagination._

Noctis reminded himself of how small Serah is and how mediocre her battle skills were, from what he saw during the fight. _What a ridiculous thought. I need to get it together._ He chided himself.

_Then again, we were all just kids when our powers were unlocked. It's not impossible for anyone else to have powers too._

"You have Claire! Why would you take Serah too? What would you even want from her?" Snow was starting to lose his composure without Light there to help him keep it.

"I want a lot of things from a lot of people," Noctis removed his hand from Serah's waist and raised it to caress her face. He enjoyed the furiousness that rose to the surface of Snow's face.

"Hands off my fiancée!" he cried as he tumbled forwards like a PSICOM supplies truck, which was rather impressive to Noctis that a man that size could travel so quickly.

Noctis could travel quicker.

As Snow barreled forwards, Noctis focused on the spot the man left and teleported Serah and himself to it.

Snow, not expecting the sudden disappearance, stumbled to a halt and looked behind him. Noctis chuckled, but it was devoid of mirth. The large man amused him, but his amusements would have to be cut short. Unfortunately, when Snow yelled, he attracted glances from other NORA members, some of whom were now running to his aid.

"Damn behemoth," Noctis muttered under his breath.

He leaned down to be level with Serah's ear. "Sorry, my dear, but it looks as though our time is being cut short. Therefore, I bid you adieu until we meet again."

He ignored the girl's trembles and swiftly struck her with the hilt of his sword. He was careful to use only as much force as necessary, Light was going to hate him even more as it was, and there was no reason to add fuel to that fire. Serah fell limp in Noctis' arms, the latter shifting her until he was carrying her bridal style. Judging by the distance between him and the NORA members, he figured they understood the situation.

A woman with black hair and purple clothes, if they could be called that, stood to Snow's left with a gun ready. A shorter man with spiky blue hair and what looked to be a uniform stood to Snow's right, also wielding a gun. All in all, neither looked threatening to Noctis. It was like a lion facing newborn kittens. They had no idea what they were getting into, but they would find out soon enough.

The three of them stared at Noctis for a while, glancing at Serah periodically. Noctis could be patient, and his Nightingales had very high stamina. Enough stamina to continue fighting through his antics to keep the others distracted.

"Well?" started the woman with black hair.

Noctis tilted his head to the side, the universal symbol of confusion. "Well?" he repeated with feigned innocence.

"Well, are you going to hand her back to us or not?" she continued, as if it were obvious. And Noctis had to agree, it was pretty obvious what she meant.

"Who knows?"

His response must have not been what the woman was expecting. She immediately turned hostile and tried to charge forwards. She would have, if Snow hadn't held her back. "Let me beat that asshole's head into the ground!" she shouted. As Snow continued to restrain her, she became progressively more aggressive and angry. "What are you doing? Don't you want to get your future wife back too? Or have you changed her mind? That's it, isn't it? You swear to protect her, then when it comes down to it, you want to save your own skin instead."

Snow's face turned dark and his grip strengthened on the woman. He spoke in a deadly serious voice. "Don't ever even think that! I love Serah with all of my heart and it's because of that fact that I won't charge in again. He has power, he could leave with her right now if he wanted to and there wouldn't be a damn thing we could do about it! When Serah's life is on the line, I have to do anything that will increase her chance of survival."

At his words, the woman stopped struggling. He let her go. "The Prince is the most infamous, heartless criminal in this city. Serah is in his grasp, don't you understand that?"

The woman looked at the ground and remained silent, but Noctis could see she knew Snow was right.

"You already took one member of our family, are you so cruel as to take another?" Snow asked.

The woman's eyes widened slightly and she looked at Snow. "You don't mean?"

Snow nodded, apparently understanding what the woman wanted to say. Her head snapped back to Noctis. "She may have been cold and solitary, but she was part of our family. One of us," she trembled with anger. "You'll pay for this, and for holding Serah hostage too."

"Petty threats and promises of eternal damnation are not enough to sway what I do. I have important work, things that must be done. Things that are important enough for me to put lives in peril," Noctis replied. "However, I made a deal. I'll return Serah, but you better keep your half of the deal. If you don't, a few extra lives will be in peril."

Noctis looked at the tense expressions that carried a small bit of happiness in them. He imagined that they expected him to actually _hand_ Serah over. Noctis chuckled and at the dark sound the NORA members' faces filled with fear. "Until next time, NORA."

Noctis summoned a few swords behind him pointing at the NORA members. He tossed Serah's body high into the air and vanished, leaving behind him a swirl of black rose petals. As he disappeared, he sent the swords forwards. _I didn't hurt her purposely; she simply fell into the danger._

~~~Space~~~

Snow's heart stopped when he saw Serah being thrown into the air. To make matters worse, swords were coming straight at her, and them. Without waiting for Lebreau or Yuj, he ran forwards to Serah. "Serah!" he cried.

He wasn't going to make it, she would hit the ground first. He could feel the frustration of not being able to protect what meant the most to him in the world. "Serah!" he cried again.

He was a little closer, but not much. In the distance, he heard a bird's call and in the corner of his eye he saw the other two Nightingales retreat. His frustration and anger at himself became tangible. He wanted nothing more than for time to slow down enough for him to make it to his beloved.

That's when he felt a burning sensation engulf him. He hadn't been struck by a sword though, he was certain of it as he could still see them past Serah. He realized another oddity. Serah was falling slower and the swords were moving slower. After a quick glance, he discovered that everyone and everything was in slow motion except for him. The realization made his heart leap. He could reach Serah in time.

The swords, though they were slower, still reached Serah before Snow did. He saw, in horror, one of the swords hit the back of her leg and another one skim over her stomach. He watched the blood start to stain her pale leg and white shirt. "Just hold on, I'm coming!" he knew she probably couldn't hear him, but he hoped that there was a possibility she could.

He didn't care when one of the swords cut his arm and he felt his warm blood drip down its length. It wasn't enough to stop him.

Serah was nearing the ground when Snow reached her. In his arms, he caught her and pulled her close to him, not caring that her blood would stain his clothes or that his blood would stain her clothes even more. All that mattered was that Serah was in his arms and breathing.

Time returning to normal and the footsteps of Lebreau and Yuj sped up with time. They were out of breath by the time they reached Snow. Nobody had been seriously wounded by Noctis' last little trick, but they all had cuts here and there. "How did you make it?" Yuj asked.

Snow looked at the blue haired boy. He felt his characteristic grin forming on his face. "Because I'm the hero, remember?"

Yuj and Lebreau laughed. They and the other NORA members made their way to their respective homes. Each were a little beaten up and could use some bandages and some sleep.

As Snow walked home with Serah in his arms, he couldn't help but wonder what had happened before, and more importantly, if it could happen again. He had seen the Nightingales perform strange tricks, but always just thought they had Mana Drives of some sort. But now, after performing one of those strange tricks himself, he wondered if it were something more and if he was like them himself.

The usefulness of being able to slow time was not lost on Snow. People he couldn't save before because of time, he would be able to save now. _I'll have to experiment with it later._

He looked at the injured, unconscious girl in his arms. _But right now, helping Serah comes first._

It was slow, but Snow made it to the Farron household, or as he liked to think of it, the Villiers' household. It wasn't like Claire still lived there, her bedroom remained vacant though. Waiting for her, without regard to time, her bedroom sat. From what Snow knew, that bedroom saw a lot of use when Claire was in high school. Or so Serah said.

Farther down the hall was Serah's room, or in the Villier's household, the master bedroom. Snow set Serah on their bed. Snow had spent the night so many times, that Serah saved her money to buy a larger bed for them to share, much to her big sister's displeasure. Thankfully, Serah's bleeding had slowed significantly. Still, she looked so small and pale on the bed's chocolate brown sheets.

Snow left the room and went to the second floor's bathroom, across the hall from Claire's bedroom. After a bit of searching, he was able to find a small tub in which he put warm water, a cloth, and some clean cloth bandages. He had considered taking the healing cream he saw in one cabinet, but he assumed it was Claire's for missions and opted to make do with old-fashioned water and bandages.

Setting the supplies on the nightstand beside the bed, Snow contemplated his next move. Serah was hurt on her leg, that's no problem. The leg wound was simple for Snow to clean and bandage, even if his bandaging skills were below par, because it wasn't hidden by anything clothing. Serah's stomach cut, however, would be a bit trickier. To bandage that wound would mean removing at least a portion of Serah's shirt. Even though they were engaged, the thought made Snow's face red. He didn't need a mirror to tell him that, he could feel it.

"Sorry, Serah, but I k-kind of don't have a choice," Snow forced out as he unbuttoned the lowest buttons of her shirt, thankful it had any buttons. "Please don't be angry."

The cut had scabbed over for the most part, but Snow didn't like the sight of it at all. He cleaned it with the wet cloth as gingerly as possible. He felt the anger running through him. Angry at the Prince for doing this, at Claire for not being there for her sister, but mostly at himself for not being able to protect his fiancée. He did admit that his anger at Claire was a bit unreasonable, she is constantly doing everything she can to keep Serah alive.

When Serah's cuts had been covered in white cloth bandages, Snow tentatively ran his rough fingers over Serah's stomach. The cloth felt soft. The adrenaline from the fight left Snow and all he felt after was exhaustion. Even more exhausted than the last battle, but he attributes that to the fact that he or someone (most likely him though) stopped time without the use of a mana drive. It was true, natural magic, he believed, like the magic of fairy tales. He quickly buttoned Serah's shirt over her bandages.

Not wanting to disturb Serah, he takes the chair from her desk and set it beside the bed. Snow took Serah's hand and held it in his own. He kissed the back of her hand and clasped his other hand over it. As long as he was near, nothing would hurt Serah. He'd make sure of it. It barely took a minute after Snow had gotten himself comfortable for him to fall asleep. The cut on his arm could wait until the morning.

~~~Space~~~

Serah's hand felt warm. It wasn't uncomfortable. In fact, it was very comfortable. Her eye lids felt heavy and when she tried to shift her position, her stomach and leg would hurt. She doesn't remember receiving injuries. She doesn't remember anything after the Prince sneaking up behind her and sending Claire away. The memory brings sadness to Serah's already mourning heart. It felt heavy. As if it were floating on water, tempting to dive beneath the surface, but was now forcibly pushed under the current where only muted screams of incoherent words reached her. But it was Claire's voice and Snow's voice yelling to her. There were two other voices that Serah didn't recognize at first: her mom and dad.

Serah slowly opened her eyes to stare at the dark ceiling. She noticed that to her right, Snow sat asleep and holding her hand. She smiled and made a mental note to keep her hand relatively still. It was dark and Snow deserved to rest without disruption. She was curious as to why he was sitting by the bed instead of laying beside her, but she could ask in the morning.

She turned to face the dark ceiling once again to think of the feeling she had in her half conscious state. _Mom and Dad… Claire was never the same after you two left._

She remembered Claire being gone a lot after their vacation in Nautilus. She didn't really remember much, but there had been a massacre while they were there. She had read about it years later. A boy killed his entire family, a dozen bystanders, and injured many more. Even PSICOM wasn't quick enough to save everyone. She remembered Claire being in the hospital after that vacation. It felt like forever until her parents and her could visit Claire. Even then, she still looked battered and sickly. _She must have been really injured._

Even Serah, as young as she had been, knew that Claire wasn't the same after coming home from the hospital. She never truly recovered mentally from that experience. _Poor Claire, she's had to go through so much already and still has to go through more._

Serah fell back asleep hoping that someday her sister would find what truly makes her happy and that the day would come soon.

~~~Space~~~

Light sat on the couch in the main room with Yeul beside her. They were sifting through the jewelry they had grabbed during the robbery. At the time, they were just grabbing what they could. But now, they had their entire grab spread onto the coffee table in front of them. Some of the pieces were pretty, but some were too gaudy in Light's opinion.

"Look," Yeul said as she pointed at the table. Light followed the direction and saw a silver chain connected to a lightning bolt. The lightning bolt had sapphire gems in the middle of it, making a trail from the top to the bottom. Light picked up the piece and noticed how the light made the gems sparkle.

"It's beautiful," Light commented as she placed the necklace back on the coffee table.

"Why not keep it?" Yeul asked. "I won't tell."

"It wouldn't feel right. It wouldn't feel like it's mine. Hell, it already feels wrong." Light gestured at all of the jewelry. "All of this feels wrong, every bit."

Yeul nodded. "I understand that you did not grow up with a life of crime, but that is your life now. I'm sorry that we are not your family and that you don't wish to stay with us. I'm sorry that Noctis has kept you here against your will." Yeul kept her eyes away from Light's.

"No. No. No. That's not what I meant. That came out wrong. I'm… I'm stupid," Light sputtered. "You and Prompto are like my sister and brother. It's not my real home, it will never have the memories that my old home does, but it will work." Light smiled, forcible, but smiled nonetheless. "We can all make it work right?"

Yeul finally met Light's eyes and nodded. "Yeah."

A few moments of silence passed as the girls admired the jewelry. "Did you grow up with a life of crime?" Light finally asked.

Yeul paused for a moment before replying. "I did."

"I'm sorry."

"There is only one moment of it that I regret."

Light didn't ask what that moment was and Yeul didn't elaborate. Light was alright with that. Even without that bit of information, she still learned more about Yeul and realized there was a lot more to learn about each of the Nightingales. Noctis was probably the one she knew the most about, considering their past with the Nautilus Massacre. But at the same time, she thought that Noctis may also be the one she knows the least about. That would include Ignis as well, whom she has never met and only knows his name.

Light's eyes fell back onto the lightning bolt necklace. She would probably have to dye her hair again if she wanted to go back to the NORA bar. Or buy a wig. If she went as is, Serah and Snow would notice for sure. She hasn't been there in a while either, and it's one of the few things so far that takes away the buried homesickness within her. The only other things taking away her homesickness so far being spending time with Yeul and/or Prompto.

Light idly twirled a necklace around her finger. Soon, all of this jewelry would go to the people Noctis knows will take it.

Light stops twirling the necklace. The last she saw of Noctis was him holding Serah captive. Anger fills her. He better not have hurt her baby sister. _Where are you Noctis?_

Hearing the door open, Light snapped to look at it. She had heard a saying fitting to the situation from her parents when she was young and from teachers in school.

Speak of the devil and he will appear.


	13. Chapter 13

Snow was bringing food to Serah. Because he couldn't cook without her supervision, he settled with her suggestion of some canned soup. She had wanted to cook lunch—they had slept in—but Snow insisted she rest a bit. Still, she made him let her clean and wrap his cut that he had neglected in favor of sleeping.

While Serah ate, Snow sat quietly. He had considered telling Serah about his conversation with Claire before she was captured, but decided it would be better not to. He knew she would already feel bad about being taken as a blackmail piece and he didn't want to make it worse.

"Maybe we should move somewhere else. We are getting married soon," Snow suggested.

Serah shook her head without interrupting her meal.

"I just thought that, since Claire's room is here and her stuff is here, that it would help you to heal from losing her."

Serah set her bowl on the night stand. "I haven't lost her, she's just taking a different route home."

"You know what I meant."

"And I mean what I said. Someday, the Nightingales will go their separate ways. Their crime will end at some point, even if it's because they are all too old to steal anything without breaking a hip. When that time comes, I want Claire to be able to find her home and her room the way she left it. I want her to see it clean and waiting for her so she will feel welcomed."

Snow smiled and clasped his hands on either side of Serah's face. He leaned in closely and their lips met. Every time they kissed felt like the first and Snow never figured out how his fiancée had such soft lips. It wasn't until after they parted that Snow's curiosity rose again. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen Claire's room. And I have been living here for quite awhile."

"Claire's room is very special to her. It was where she spent most of her time as a child and through her high school years, well, except her senior year. That was when she became more like the Claire you know. After Guardian Corps training, she fully became the Claire you know," Serah poked the tip of Snow's nose. "And now you know why you haven't been there."

"That doesn't explain much at all," Snow mumbled. "Can't I just take a peak?"

"No," Serah said. "It's Claire's room. You have no right to go snooping in there."

Snow sighed. "I just wanted to learn more about my future sister."

Serah groaned. "One peak, that's all. None of this gets mentioned to Claire, got it?"

Snow's hero grin plastered itself on his face and he nodded enthusiastically. "Yes ma'am!"

~~~Space~~~

Light was standing in front of Noctis immediately. It wasn't until after the sound had reached her ears that she noticed the dull stinging in her hand. She had slapped Noctis, the infamous Prince of the Nightingales, across the face. This face was not lost on Noctis either, if his look of disbelief was anything to measure by.

Light decided she may as well use this anger before the nerves of knowing he could kill her and everything she loves very quickly kicked in. At his chest, she jabbed her index finger. "What the hell did you think you were doing? Grabbing Serah like that?" she demanded.

She jabbed at his chest again, not giving him time to speak even though he opened his mouth. "We made a deal. I stay and she remains unharmed. And then you dare to pull that stunt? I—I'll…"

Noctis had plenty of time to recompose himself by then and was wearing a completely emotionless mask, even his eyes were glazed over. "You'll what?"

Light summoned lightning in the palm of her hand and moved to hit Noctis' chest, above his heart, with the electricity. Noctis, being the quick man he was, sidestepped and grabbed Light's wrist. The lightning bolt shot at the opening front door and Prompto jumped back. "Damn it, Light! Are you trying to kill me?" he asked.

Light noticed how his joking expression turned serious, and then worried. Prompto stood dumbfounded for a moment. "What's—"

"Leave," Noctis commanded.

Prompto took a step forward only for a sword to appear and stab the ground centimeters in front of his foot.

"Leave," Noctis repeated.

With a last glance at Light, Prompto closed the door and his footsteps faded quickly after.

"Don't want an audience?"

Light felt Noctis' grip tighten on her wrist. It felt ready to snap. "You're getting worked up over nothing."

Light heard Yeul's soft footsteps retreating. She probably imagined that Noctis was referring to her as well when he said 'leave'.

"My hand did not harm Serah," Noctis spat as he relinquished his grip on her wrist. "I'm sorry if I hurt your wrist, but I was left with no choice."

Light didn't speak but narrowed her eyes at Noctis. _That doesn't mean a different part of you didn't hurt Serah… but then again, how often does the Prince give an apology to anyone?_

"It's your choice to believe me." Noctis shrugged and sat on the couch that Yeul and Light occupied minutes earlier. "Now, let's see what we've got here…"

Light walked towards the staircase to go to her room, but Noctis stopped her. "Sit," he said, hand patting the couch beside him.

Light reluctantly took a sit as far away as possible from Noctis on the couch. After a few moments, the tension and anger from earlier dissipated. Light felt a strange calmness from Noctis and it made her feel calm as well. It didn't matter if she should feel alert or not, she just felt…safe. Besides, Snow would have taken care of Serah. He would make sure nothing happened to her, right? He always claimed to be the hero after all.

She watched as he lifted different pieces of jewelry and inspected them, apparently looking for something she wouldn't know. Serah was the one who cared about fashion and jewelry. As far as Light was concerned, she liked it or she didn't and those were the only two categories for jewelry there were.

"Here." Light didn't notice that Noctis was holding a necklace in front of her. It was the lightning bolt necklace that Yeul had pointed out earlier. Light took it from him but was lost about what to do next.

"Noctis-" she started.

"Keep it," he said simply.

"Aren't you going to sell it?"

"There'll be enough money from the rest of the pieces. You have to remember that not only did you and Yeul take things, Prompto, Gladiolus, and I did as well." Noctis looked at Light and smiled slightly. "A lightning bolt necklace for Lightning, think of it as a present from me."

Light wasn't sure what to say. She sat frozen and Noctis seemed to realize her dilemma. "Here, I got it."

Noctis took the necklace from Light's hand, leaned forward, and clasped it behind her neck. The chain felt cold on her skin and it sent a shiver down her spine. He adjusted it so that the lightning bolt dangled perfectly from the chain below her neck. He placed a hand on Light's shoulder and she didn't have the urge to flinch away from his touch for the first time. "You did well today."

Light's hand reached up to hold the jeweled lightning bolt. Noctis was confusing her. He took Serah, almost broke her own wrist, and now he's smiling and giving her jewelry? Something about him always seemed a bit off. But that didn't stop her smile from joining Noctis'.

"…Thank you…"

~~~Space~~~

"Whoa…"

Serah watched Snow from Claire's bed as he stood in the middle of Claire's room. Being in the room brought a nostalgic feeling to Serah. As a child, she wasn't often allowed in the room, but on those rare occasions when Claire allowed her in, she always cherished it. It didn't matter to her if they played games, talked, or if they just did their homework in the same room. It hasn't changed a bit.

"This isn't Claire-like at all."

"She's changed a lot."

Serah had to agree with Snow. While the room did anything but resemble Claire now, when she was young, the room was the perfect embodiment of her. The walls were painted with dark red and black stripes. The carpet was black just like the blankets, sheets, and pillows of the bed Serah sat on. Well, one pillow was a deep purple. That one was always Serah's favorite. Everything in the room was dark in color, giving the entire room an ominous feeling. Serah was sure there were some of Claire's clothes in her room. Snow never saw them, since he only saw her in her soldier outfit, but they were all shades of purple, red, and black. Very occasionally, Claire would wear blue, brown, or grey.

"She changed multiple times too."

"_I want these, Mom," Claire stated holding up a pair of black jeans, a large contrast from her faded blue jeans._

"_Are you sure, baby? Aren't those a bit dark?" their mom asked?_

_Serah grabbed the leg of the jeans Claire held up and played with it while her big sister and mom talked._

"_I'm sure."_

_Their mom sighed. "Well, alright then. Give them here."_

_Claire handed her mom the jeans and her mom put them in the cart. She continued through the store. Claire took Serah's hand and followed after their mom. Serah was upset over the jeans being taken away. While they walked, she could just barely hear Claire's voice._

"_If anything, they're too bright."_

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to Serah," Snow said.

Serah snapped out of her daze. "Answer what?"

"I asked what Claire was like a kid, and why."

"Oh. Well, I'm not very sure myself, but—"

"_Daddy, where's Claire? I want to see if she'll play dolls with me." Serah asked. She was too young to see how her father's face darkened ever so slightly at Claire's name._

"_She's just at a friend's house."_

"_Ever since we went to Nautilus, she's always at her friends' houses. How come her friends never come here?" Serah whined._

_Her dad laughed, though she didn't realize how forced it sounded. "Come on, sweetie. I'll play dolls with you, okay?"_

"She was in the hospital for a long time after we went to Nautilus on vacation. I think she was injured during the massacre."

"The massacre? That was like twelve years ago."

"Yes, I was six and Claire was nine. Anyway, after she returned from the hospital, she seemed to be gone a lot. Dad always said she was at a friend's house."

_Serah perked up when she heard the door creaking open. She ran over to the front door to see who was entering when she noticed that it was the basement door opening, not the front door. Claire shut the door behind her before noticing Serah. "When did you get back from your friend's house?" Serah asked with innocent eyes._

_Claire blinked a few times, like she was dazed and trying to clear her vision. "J-just a little bit ago… You must have not heard the door…"_

_Serah noticed a dark bruise on Claire's arm, exposed by her t-shirt. She gasped. "Did you bump something there? Did it hurt?"_

_Claire's eyes widened when she looked at the bruise. "I, uh, I guess I did. I didn't even notice." She forced a laugh and pat Serah's head, which made Serah grin._

"_What were you doing in the basement anyway? Dad always tells me I'm not allowed in the basement."_

"_Don't worry about it," Claire said before walking to her room, shutting the door behind her._

"Every time she came back from her friends' houses, it seemed like less of her returned."

_Claire's clothes became darker to match her make up, her room, and her personality. Serah noticed how she would laugh when someone got hurt, especially when blood was involved. Serah just thought it was a middle school thing and that she would be the same way as a middle school student. The idea of finding horrible things amusing scared Serah though. She made a promise to herself that she would wear the pinkest, brightest dress she could for her first day of middle school._

_When Serah started sixth grade, Claire walked her to school. The high school Claire would attend was next to the middle school. Serah expected everyone to be wearing the clothes Claire did. But to her surprise, only Claire's small group of friends dressed the same way, everyone else wore clothes that Serah wouldn't mind wearing._

"I didn't really like her friends. They had too many piercings, wore too much make up, and had this aura about them. It was hard to explain, but I knew they did things I wouldn't want to. So I made an effort to stay as far away from them as possible. Being near Claire was the only exception, but I had my own friends too and spent less and less time near Claire."

Snow sat next to Serah, giving her his full attention. "Claire was in grade nine when our dad's heart stopped and he died. I started to notice a distinct smell on her breath when she would come home, if she came home some nights. I learned that it was the smell of alcohol.

"For the next two years, Claire and I rarely spoke to each other. Claire rarely spoke to anyone. Even when I saw her with her friends, she sat and listened. When she was in grade eleven, our mom died. It was a car accident, nobody could do anything to help her and she died shortly after arriving at the hospital.

"It was then that Claire pulled herself together into the Claire we know now. She started wearing neutral color clothes. Her breath rarely, if ever, had that hint of alcohol. She spoke to me more, helped me with homework, and just generally made sure I was okay and happy. Her grades were never the best, but they improved a little. During her last year of general school, she decided to join the Guardian Corps. She wanted to help people."

Serah tapped her chin in thought. "And now here we are."

Snow didn't speak for a minute. "I'm sorry."

"It isn't your fault. Only Claire would know whose fault it is. I imagine it was that murderer from the Nautilus massacre. That's when everything went downhill."

Snow picked Serah up bridal style and carried her out of Claire's room, closing the door behind him to the room of the enigma that is Claire.

"Let's give your little story a fairytale ending. What would you like to do today, my princess?" Snow asked, spinning in a circle with Serah giggling in his arms.

"Let's get some ice cream, my prince charming."

~~~Space~~~

Light looked around at the cell walls. She was chained again. In the same way and in the same place she was when being tortured by the Prince. Had the whole event of being forced into the Nightingales been just a dream produced by her weariness?

Water drops fell onto the stone ground and each drip reminded Light how cold and uncomfortable she was. But she hoped that she truly had just dreamt all of the events from the masquerade to the jewelry theft. At least then there would be some hope that she would be rescued and able to live peacefully with Serah and Snow again as a Guardian Corps sergeant.

A gentle breeze tickled Light's exposed skin. She looked at the cell door, where it was coming from, and noticed that there was no door there at all. There was a strange sort of violet world beyond the room's threshold.

Curiosity got the best of her and Light tried sitting up, expecting there to be great difficulties because of the chains. However, she was able to sit up as easily as if she were getting out of her bed at home. She stepped onto the stone ground and walked out of her cell, chains dragging on the ground behind her.

She was outside, but everything had taken on a purple hue and her mind felt hazy, slow. The grass was soft, she noticed she had no shoes on, and deep purple. With every step, the grass seemed to bleed out purple liquid. The sky was a mix of purple and deep blue, lighter than the trees' purple and black mix. There was no sun or moon.

_Hallucinations, probably. I wonder what drug they put in my food._

"Claire, where have you been?" a voice asked.

Light looked for the source and found her father standing off to her left. Despite wanting to run in the other direction, Light knew that now she was stronger than her dad and that after all this wasn't real, was it?

Light stumbled over to her dad where she was greeted with a hug before he pushed her to the ground away from him. Her chains clanked noisily and entangled her. "What was that for?" she demanded.

"I should be asking you that, you small monster," he growled.

Light noticed that he was right, she was small. She wasn't an adult, she was just a child again. "I treated you how you deserved to be treated, and you kill me for it?" he kicked Light and sent her rolling.

"Murderer!" he called after her as she rolled down a hill that seemed to be forming as she clanked down it. She felt herself growing taller, her body that of an adult once again.

"About time you showed up, Farron." It was her first Guardian Corps squad.

"None of you belong here," she spat, remembering the hatred she always felt for her squad leader.

"You're right, Farron. We don't belong here. We shouldn't be here." He knelt down and placed his hands on either side of Light's face.

"We would have made it out alive, if it weren't for your little outburst. What kind of soldier kills her team just to make it through a mission alive? You should have died there with us."

Light clenched her jaw. "I tried to save all of us. It was just an accident!"

Her team laughed mirthlessly. "Murder? An accident? Ha, looks like you do have a sense of humor. I know how much you disliked me. You probably danced for joy on top of my grave!"

Her leader removed his hands and stood up. "I hear you're with the Nightingales now. Good, you fit right in with them."

"I'm nothing like them. I'm not—"

"Not a murderer? Well, you murdered us. Didn't you murder Daddy Dearest too? A life of murder is all you know." Her team walked away, leaving her standing dumbfounded in the purple grass that was quickly turning deep red.

Footsteps alerted Light to a presence behind her. She whipped around and heard her chains whistle through the air. Noctis took leisurely steps towards her. "You're the same as us," he said in his dark, silky voice. He held out his hand towards Light.

"Come on, what are you waiting for?"

"You're mistaken, I'm not like you at all," Light growled.

Noctis blinked slowly, when his eyes opened they were a deep crimson. "Yes, you are."

_She was back in her cell while the Prince told her for the first time she was the same as them._

"_You must be mistaken," she told him. She had never committed a crime…_

Light's eyes widened. She had committed a crime. She committed five. Five people, dead at her hands. She murdered her father and her squad. She could see their unmoving bodies before her, the shock in their eyes not expecting the cold embrace of death. Noctis had been right, she is the same.

Light's hands trembled as blood poured from seemingly endless pools in her palms. A second Noctis stood by the first, but didn't outstretch his hand like the other. He stood calm and composed, hands in his pockets. Both of them had their eyes on her, dark blue eyes and deep red eyes staring into her soul sending shivers through her body. The world turned into a blood red around them.

The Princes chuckled and their voices mixed together.

"I am never mistaken."

~~~Space~~~

Noctis was awake long after Light had gone to bed. The dark voice had been resurfacing in his mind again. It took all of Noctis' strength to keep it subdued. Only a few times had he allowed the voice control, and those times resulted in a lot of death. The last time was after capturing Light. The voice demanded so much blood. He didn't want to torture Light. He had only planned to blackmail her, but the voice made it so hard to resist. He gave in.

_She's just a problem. She's making you soft._

"That's not true. She's reminding me what it's like to be human. The extremes she is willing to go to for her sister's wellbeing are, at their very least, respectable."

_She's just a fool. She doesn't understand her actions. To live for someone else makes her weak._

Noctis thought of Light. She didn't talk much, but she said what she needed to. Her powers were still in development, but she was still strong and could fight without them. There was a sort of gracefulness to her fighting style that made Noctis want to watch her. Then, when he saw Snow trapping her, something in him snapped. He wasn't sure what that something was, but he wanted Snow far away from Light. No one was allowed to be that close to Light, only him.

_It'd be best to discard of her now. The longer you wait, the harder it will be. She will do nothing but hinder you, distract you._

"No. I won't let anyone, including you, harm her and won't do so myself."

_Good luck._

The voice fell silent leaving Noctis to ponder its parting words. Shortly after, a knock at the door kept Noctis from drowning in his thoughts. His senses were put on high alert. _Who knows where our hideout it? Everyone that would is already here and likely asleep._

Noctis summoned a few swords and decided that whoever was at the door could be easily taken care of.

Opening the door, Noctis raised an eyebrow and halted his swords. Standing in front of him, with his back to the cold night sky, stood Caius.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Noctis asked in mock politeness.

"I want to come back."

"I'm afraid I can't help you with that. I know you've been hanging around NORA. You've betrayed us once, how do I know you won't again? I don't think poor, little Yeul's heart could stand losing her adoptive daddy again," Noctis said, frowning as he put his hand over his chest.

"I saw your battle today and watching that woman protect Yeul made my blood boil. Yeul is my little girl. I'm the only one allowed to protect her."

"Light did a fine job protecting her. Why would we need you back?"

"Did you know that your little thunder princess visited NORA's bar a week or so ago?"

"Is that so? Well, to my knowledge, she hasn't shown any act of treason towards us. In fact, I may be able to use that to my advantage."

"What are you plotting, Noctis?" Caius asked.

"Just that Light could mislead NORA. Tip them off that a different gang is plotting something at a certain time so we won't have to waste our time with NORA. But none of that matters to you, not anymore," Noctis shrugged and started to close the door on Caius.

Caius stuck his foot in the door to prevent it from closing. "I won't betray the group again, Noctis. You have my word."

Noctis studied Caius for a moment, looking for fear in the man's amethyst eyes like he had seen in so many others. To his dismay, there wasn't the slightest trace. Noctis sighed a great, long sigh. "I can't trust your word."

"Then, I'll swear on my life," Caius said, determined.

Noctis tapped his foot. "Swear on your life, you say?"

Caius nodded affirmation.

"Would you… swear on Yeul's life?"

There was the fear Noctis wanted to see. That look in his eyes that people have when they feel control ripped from their hands. That look that resembles the look of desperation in the eyes of starving wolves, roaming the lands for their saving meal.

Caius clenched his hands into fists, so forcefully that they were trembling. Through clenched teeth he muttered, "I swear… on Yeul's life."

Noctis opened the door. "That's a good boy."

Going to sit on the couch, Noctis motioned Caius to do the same. The large purple clad man obliged.

"If you stay here, when Yeul wakes up and finds you, she'll be shocked and may even try to hurt you. You did hurt her, remember," Noctis started.

Caius sighed. "I remember, though I wish I didn't."

"I'll tell Light about the situation and have her take Yeul to meet you at Eden's Grand Park tomorrow evening. You are the three most involved with this decision, so it will be you three that meet."

"That sounds reasonable."

Noctis glared at Caius. "I wasn't finished speaking."

Caius cleared his throat and motioned for Noctis to continue.

"If you are accepted, return here. Your old room remains untouched. If you are denied, then you will never set foot near any of us again."

Caius hung his head and nodded. "I understand."

"Just one more thing…"

Caius raised his head to meet Noctis' eyes.

"It was Yeul you hurt the most. Therefore, the ultimate decision of your returning will be in Yeul's hands."

Caius paled greatly.

~~~*~~~Prompto's Adventures~~~*~~~

With trained eyes Prompto looked through his gun's scope. His finger was ready to pull the trigger at any moment. The right moment was coming. Just a little longer…

He looked at the bowl hanging from the ceiling above the stairs. From the side of the couch farthest from the staircase sat Prompto, gun propped and ready to fire. He had been kneeling on the hard floor for awhile, but it would be worth it when…

Bang!

Prompto pulled the trigger and shattered a bowl full of blue paint that was now coating Gladiolus. The large man blinked a few times and wiped away paint from his eyes. "What is—" he looked up. "Prompto!"

Prompto took that as his cue to drop his gun and run out of the house. Gladiolus was hot on his heels.

"I'll get you!" Gladiolus yelled.

Prompto was having a hard time running while laughing. Gladiolus had left footprints, blue footprints. Prompto's fun was cut short when he slammed into the ground. It felt like an anvil was on his back crushing him. With just a bit more pressure, he was sure that his spine would snap in half. Kind of like that skeleton from science in middle school that one time… Prompto chuckled at the memory with great difficulty.

Gladiolus hovered over Prompto, casting a large shadow over the sharpshooter. Prompto gulped when Gladiolus cracked his knuckles. "It was just a joke. You can take a joke, right?"

Gladiolus knelt in front of Prompto. "Right, Gladio?" Prompto forced a laugh.

"It was just a joke!"

Prompto's screams could be heard by the entire city block.

~~~Space~~~

A/N: And the madness begins.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Still don't own Final Fantasy

~~~Space~~~

If the usual grey clouds were not covering the sky, then the normal blue would be tinted by the sun bleeding out the last of its light before the moon came to reign the sky. Yeul tried to keep astride Light who, even though she slowed down from her usual pace, was still a bit quick compared to Yeul. She attributed the speed to the woman's soldier history and longer legs— the top of Yeul's head only reached Light's shoulder due to the height difference.

Yeul still didn't really know why they were going to meet the potential member instead of Noctis. All their leader had said was that they were the ones who would be the most effected and that she had the final say. Who was this member that it would be left to Yeul to decide a matter that Noctis usually took care of?

They arrived at Eden's central park and after Light did a quick scan of the area, she told Yeul that the person they were looking for wasn't there yet. Finding a bench to sit on, they waited. Yeul's toes touched the ground from the bench, but she preferred to let them swing just above the cement path.

"Punctual? An appreciated quality," said Caius, who was now standing in front of Light and Yeul.

Yeul felt anger filling her. Was this some twisted joke of Noctis'? Caius looked at her. He was wearing a tailored purple suit, his favorite civilian clothes. "Yeul, I-"

"Are you the one wanting to join?" Yeul interrupted.

"I am," Caius replied.

"My answer is no."

"Hear me out, please Yeul."

"Why should I?"

"I did everything for you, try to remember."

~~~Space~~~

_Noctis told them this would be their most important mission. The head of research for PSICOM had to die. After he was dead, Noctis promised, they would be able to live a peaceful life._

_Yeul didn't mind. Caius towered beside her and she knew he would protect her to his last breath. She looked up at him and smiled. "It'll be fun, right?"_

_Caius looked down and returned Yeul's smile with one that did not quite reach his sad eyes. A large, purple clad hand found its way to the top of Yeul's head and ruffled her blue hair. "I'm sure it will be," he said in a strangely quiet voice._

_Yeul didn't pay much mind to Caius' oddities that day. Noctis had said it would be their most important mission, so he was likely nervous that something would go wrong. Because of this, Yeul decided she would keep a smile on her face and a laugh in her voice. That way, Caius would be happier and not seem so depressed about this assassination mission._

_It would seem that her plan wasn't working. She was left behind in a room during the mission; nobody else had noticed the PSICOM soldier off to the side other than her. The man removed his helmet and set down his weapons. "I'm not gonna hurt ya, kid," he said._

_Without his helmet, Yeul could look the soldier in his eyes and drag him into what she termed "Mindscape". A place where she could enter his mind and change its content to anything she desired._

_The man was powerless to prevent Yeul from taking over his mind and quickly succumbed to her power. She stood in a grey landscape. "Show me what you fear," she commanded._

_Without delay, forms of people on the ground lying in blood appeared. Yeul guessed the figures to be the man's family and friends. One particular person was farther away from the others. A woman. Maybe she was his girlfriend? Wife? Mother? Sister? It didn't matter, not to Yeul._

_Yeul took the image of the dead woman and intensified it. Around her body, the grey land became a room in a house. The blood seeped into the carpet and a knife appeared in her hand. Yeul waited for a moment. A man ran through the door. The PSICOM man. He kneeled beside the woman and his tears started flowing. He begged for her to be alive. He begged for her to hold on for just a moment longer. Yeul left Mindscape._

_In reality, the man was now trembling. The tears were flowing down his cheeks as they had been. Now, he was unaware. The world around him was ignored in favor of him staying in the fake world Yeul weaved inside his mind. She walked to the helmet and weapon the man foolishly discarded in hopes of subduing Yeul in a nonviolent manner. She picked up the gun. She had seen Prompto shoot guns many times and was confident she could as well._

_She placed the barrel to the man's forehead and pulled the trigger. The gun pushed back against her, causing her to nearly hit herself in the forehead considering she had to point it up and raise her arms to reach the man's forehead. She had never seen Prompto show any difficulties with the gun's pushback, but she had never seen Prompto try to fire in that manner._

_The sound of the gunshot blared through the room and caused Yeul's ears to ring. Blood splattered on Yeul and on the walls near the man. His head was unrecognizable with his brains now adding decoration to the room. Footsteps from the hallway alerted Yeul. She turned to face the doorway, gun in shaking hands. Her smile had faded a long time ago and she wasn't sure if she would be able to take on another soldier if they didn't remove their helmet. Besides, after seeing their dead friend, the soldiers wouldn't be so quick to trust her again, or at all._

_When Caius ran into the room, Yeul dropped the gun to the floor. Caius walked to her at a more reasonable pace. He didn't say much until he was kneeling in front of her. "Are you hurt?"_

_Yeul shook her head. The shaking had stopped, but she was still stained with blood. She pointed at the body on the ground. "Aren't you proud, Caius?" She smiled at the man. "I did it all by myself."_

_Caius didn't look happy. He didn't say anything. Taking Yeul's hand he led her to where the rest of the Nightingales stood waiting. They, too, looked relieved when they heard Yeul was unharmed. They thought otherwise from her appearance._

_The one other unseen part of their mission was when the head of PSICOM's research was near death from Noctis' swords. Noctis asked what he knew of the initials "S.S" outside of doors at a PSICOM facility._

"_They stand for… 'Super Soldier'. The project is the baby of- of Nabaat from PSICOM devel…op…ment…"_

_Noctis led them from the research facility quickly and became withdrawn upon their return home. Prompto and Gladiolus held their own version of celebration, which included a drinking contest. Ignis left and rarely came back. He claimed to be on special orders from Noctis._

_The day after the mission, Caius sat next to Yeul on the couch in the home's living room. "Yeul, I'm sorry," he started. "I saw what you did to that man, and it reminded me of what I did to you."_

_Yeul didn't understand, but she didn't interrupt._

"_You should have had a normal childhood, but I made you into a monster. I cannot atone for this sin, but I will spend my life trying to. It's time for us to leave the life of crime."_

_Caius stood and held his hand to Yeul to help her up. Yeul shook her head. "No."_

_Yeul could see the hurt in Caius' eyes, but she wasn't going to leave the only life she knew. She liked being with the Nightingales. Caius sighed and sat next to her again. She assumed that he was just joking. Until the next day, when her assumption was proved wrong. Noctis told her in the morning that Caius had left the Nightingales officially._

_Yeul stopped talking for a long time. It was only because of the brotherly feelings the other members held for Yeul that she talked at all, let alone smiled at rare intervals._

_Noctis took Yeul into his protection. He stood at her side during missions, protecting her and never complaining that she burdened them. But she always knew that she was a burden. It caused her to withdraw from the group._

_She had seen members come and go from the Nightingales. Some simply left the group, others died. A man with long white hair and a black trench coat left to start his own group called "Jenova." They quickly became enemies of the Nightingales._

_The same man killed a brown-haired woman with healing abilities. That was the first time Yeul was truly shaken by a member leaving. The girl, Aerith, had always been motherly towards Yeul. She never deserved to die. In death, Yeul knew Aerith would be reunited with her boyfriend, Zack, who had also been murdered in Eden._

_Eden was never safe. If anything, it grows more dangerous._

_Weeks later, Noctis entered Yeul's room, knocking once, then twice, before opening the wooden door. The creaking drew Yeul out of her reverie. Noctis sat beside her on her bed before speaking, making the soft mattress dip down. "I've found a new guard for you," he said. Blunt as usual._

"_I don't want a new guard," Yeul replied. Caius had promised that he would stand by her forever. Forever seemed much shorter than she thought._

_Noctis sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, something he often did when he was bothered. During the few missions Yeul assisted in after Caius left, she had gotten to know Noctis' mind fairly well._

"_I know, but give her a chance. You may like her. Plus, she seems to be a reliable person."_

"_She may not even want to be one of us."_

"_If it comes to it," Noctis clenched his fists. "I'll have to play the part of the Prince and use a certain piece of leverage… Only as a last resort."_

_Noctis shook his head, "I hate the image that I've been given, but the best way to hide is to be as fake as possible in the public eye."_

_Yeul knew that wasn't true. It wasn't fake. The Prince was the second voice in Noctis' head that awakened at any moment involving blood. If such a moment did not happen recently, it awakened with a strong bloodlust forcing Noctis to quiet it. It wasn't as much of an act as he wished it to be. Though, the true Noctis did dislike meaningless harm._

_It was a fun game to play: which Noctis is the real one?_

_When Yeul had managed to sift through his memories without him noticing, she learned the real from the fake. Noctis' magic had taken on a personality of its own. Sometimes, Yeul could hear its thoughts and they scared her. She wished that Noctis could regain full control over his mind. From his memories, he found the one person that could help him do so. The pink-haired girl._

~~~Space~~~

"Yeul?"

When Yeul was finally drawn from her memories, the sky had darkened considerably. The streetlamps had turned on, elongating shadows with their feeble light. Light, looking concerned, sat beside Yeul while Caius kneeled in front of her. "Yeul?" her former guardian asked.

"What?"

"Have you decided?" Caius had a look of anxiety. Yeul knew that she had every right to deny his request. He told her they'd always be together and then left her alone. He had betrayed her. Plus, she had grown close to Light. The stoic woman had become a sort of older sister. But she still had that feeling that lingered for the return of those old days spent together.

Yeul met that older sister's cold eyes, but they weren't cold often anymore in a manner other than color. Those eyes held confusion, conflict, and always a hint of acceptance. She did what she had to for Serah. (Yeul overheard her thoughts often. She couldn't help it, they were so loud, but she always felt sorry for Light's dilemma.)

"What would happen to you?" Yeul whispered.

Light seemed surprised at the question. She offered Yeul a soft smile. "You wouldn't have to worry about me. Noctis discussed with me what my new job would be."

"So, you would still stay with us?"

Light laughed an eerie, lifeless sound. "I don't have much choice Yeul."

Yeul hated that answer, but she offered a tiny smile anyway. Anytime she talked to Light about the subject, it was about Light being forced to stay. They had accepted her as family; did she still not realize that? She was the only one able to help Noctis. But the longer she stayed, the more it seemed that she needed more help herself. That wasn't how Yeul wanted it to be.

"Does that mean you're saying yes?" Caius asked.

"It doesn't mean that I trust you."

Caius stood up. "I know," he said. "You don't understand how sorry I am, but I swear I will make it up to you somehow. I won't hurt you again."

Caius, who rarely smiled, did smile at Yeul. It was a bit unnerving, but Yeul attributed it to her lingering dislike of the man.

Light stood up, and Yeul followed suit. "It's time to return," Light said.

~~~Space~~~

Caius laid on the couch in the Nightingales' living room. There wasn't a room available for him anymore. Noctis and Light occupied two other chairs in the room. The other residents had gone to bed after a round of welcomes and two rounds of dinner. Yeul had gone to her room upon their return and had yet to leave it.

"We'll be moving again soon, so you won't have to worry about sleeping on this couch for very long," Noctis said.

"Time for the six month move already?" Caius stretched and lazily sat up.

Noctis nodded. "It's been about seven months since you left. We moved five months before that. A month after you left, we moved here."

Lightning was slightly puzzled. "It's been that long?"

Noctis pinched the bridge of his nose and had an annoyed tone when he spoke this time. "The same month we moved here, we captured you. It took two months to get you to agree. We released you one month before the masquerade. After the masquerade, we used a month to teach you the very basics of using your power. Last month was our robbery of the jewelry. That brings us to this month."

Noctis stood up and clapped his hands together once. "And, if the little kiddies don't have anymore questions, I'm leaving." He left without waiting to see if they had questions.

"Just us then," Caius said.

Light nodded. "Seems so."

It was quiet for a moment before Light spoke again. "I have a question for you."

"Ask away."

"How did you meet Yeul?"

Caius sighed and laid on the couch as he was before. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't expect that question. I was walking through the city, gathering some supplies as I was already a Nightingale at the time, and decided to take a different route back to our base at the time.

"Along the route I took, was an orphanage. Since it was midday, many of the children were outside playing while the matrons watched. Many were running around. You know, playing tag and some singing 'Eden Bridge is falling down' while kids pass under the arms of two other kids and hope to not be caught. Amidst all of the laughing, shouts, and singing, I saw a small girl with short blue hair sitting with her back against a tree. She was staring at the sky and it didn't take long for me to feel the pulse of magic from her. I knew she was one of us.

"I went over to her. Asked her why she wasn't playing with the other kids. She said they don't like her games. When I told her I'd play with her, her eyes immediately gained a green glow and I found myself suspended in a place between her mind and mine. We played there for a bit. It was like a sort of adventure game. We worked together to slay the menacing dragon and save the village it was terrorizing.

"Afterwards, I talked to the matron about Yeul. She said that Yeul had been at the orphanage for three years, since she was five. Her parents brought her there after she had discovered her power because it frightened them. Of course the matron told it in words that someone unaware of these abilities would use.

"I asked to adopt Yeul. The matron was shocked at first, but was too willing to complete the paperwork as soon as possible. It wasn't hard to tell that she didn't like having Yeul around. She even mentioned that Yeul scared the other kids.

"I was able to take Yeul home with me that night. The other Nightingales were welcoming of her, though Noctis was wary. Once she proved her ability to Noctis, he saw her value and also welcomed her to the group. We became a family that day."

Light wanted to ask what happened that tore Caius and Yeul apart, instilling a hatred for the older man in Yeul. But the entire story was none of her business and she had already learned more than she deserved to know.

"There were more members at that time," Caius added.

"I've been under the impression that once you become a Nightingale, you can't leave."

"That's not entirely true. Some members have been killed. Others have turned against us and formed their own group or joined a rival group. You've heard of Sephiroth, haven't you?"

"Of course, Guardian Corps has been after him for a long time. The bounty on his head almost rivals that of Noctis'. Out of all the groups, Jenova and the Nightingales are the most infamous."

"Sephiroth was a Nightingale. He got sick of taking orders from Noctis, so he left and took his lackeys with him. They became the first members of Jenova. It seemed that once people saw that it was possible to rival us, a lot of smaller groups felt enough courage to show themselves. But, of course, many groups have been 'taken care of' and many more have been formed."

"It's Eden," Light said. "A place for great opportunity, even if that opportunity is crime."

"You don't sound fond of this city."

"It's not hard to dislike it."

"Why did you stay?"

"For the same reason many others do. I have a job here. I have family here. I have nowhere else to go."

"You might still learn to love it. You're still a rookie around this group. You haven't even gotten into the fun, I'm sure."

"I was there with the jewelry robbery," Light said, trying to disprove Caius' words.

"You haven't even seen the half of it. There's much more than just grabbing a few jewels to the world of crime groups."

Light stood and walked to the staircase, the steps creaked as she ascended them. "Guess I'll found that out soon enough."

~~~Space~~~

Light and Noctis were the first two awake. At the kitchen table, each with a mug of coffee, they sat in momentary silence. "Is Caius guarding Yeul again, then?"

Noctis took a long drink of his coffee before answering. "It will take awhile for them to heal the wounds made, but yes. They will receive some time to bond again before being put in the fray."

"I was brought here to be her guardian. Can I leave now that she has a new one?"

Noctis met Light's eyes, but she couldn't sort through the emotions in them to find out how he truly felt at the moment. "I have another job for you to do for us, but… I'll make a deal with you."

Light raised an eyebrow and motioned for him to continue. "I'm listening."

"I want to kill the person who gave us this powers and separated us from the world, the people, and our families. I'm not going to use your sister as blackmail against you anymore. Instead, just stay and help with this final task. It may take awhile, but afterwards… I'll let you choose. You can stay with us or you can leave and we won't take revenge against you. No strings attached."

"That seems too good of an offer to be true."

Noctis smiled and Light could see it was genuine. It paused her heart for a moment, but she told herself it was just from the surprise. "Is it so wrong of me to hope that I can use that time to get you to stay even after that for my own selfishness?"

Light stood to refill her coffee cup. She gripped the pot and sighed. "You'll have to find a really good reason to get me to stay instead of going back to live with my sister and her oaf."

In moments, Noctis' hand was wrapped around hers and he was behind her. He guided her hand to pour the coffee. With his breath tickling her skin, he said, "I'm hoping to be that reason."


	15. Chapter 15

Moving didn't take as long as Light thought it would. Between each member, including Ignis who had returned for the day to help move then left again, and the few personal items they all had, it took the better part of one day to move. Noctis made sure he helped Light carry her things into her new room in their new house.

It was a sizable house, likely expensive. Noctis brushed off any questions about how he acquired it. Light was curious, but she only asked once. Besides, it was probably through some horrible way that he got the house for them and she really didn't want to know that. Instead, she unpacked her few belongings in her own little room. It was a simple room, complete with a bed, closet, and nightstand. It had a nice dark wood floor and maroon paint. The window was opposite the door and was covered by deep red curtain.

In ways, she was reminded of her room at home. The room she hid from _that monster_ in, even though he always found her. Light often wondered why her father was so horrible to her, but she never had an answer. Always, she tried to be Serah's shield from their father. Their father, however, was what Light would describe as an ideal parent to Serah. _Why was I different?_

Each member could have their own room in this house, and there was still a kitchen, living room, a dining room that seemed too formal for a group like them, a few bathrooms, and a basement.

Light looked for bloodstains the first day they had been there. Noctis must have killed some important people in Eden because the house was in a rich part of Cocoon's capitol. The floors were all polished. The carpets were clean and matching the curtains. No broken windows. Everything was clean and… normal. Finding nothing, Light acknowledged Noctis' ability to do something so large so subtly.

Even now, while unpacking, she found Noctis creeping into her thoughts more often. He had been true to his word in attempting to persuade her to stay after they finish this final job. It was hard to believe that he had caused her so much suffering those many months ago.

His words from the other morning still lingered in her mind, which had acquired the ability to perfectly mimic his dark, velvet voice. _"I'm hoping to be that reason."_

That one deceivingly simple sentence repeated in her mind over and over. Sometimes it was like background noise in the chaos of her thoughts. Sometimes it was the soundtrack that every other thought followed. She could feel her face warming and hoped that it didn't show, that it never showed.

Light shook her head. She can't think that way. After this final job, she can return to her sister again. She can be with her real family again…

But that would mean leaving Yeul, who had become a little sister to her, and Prompto and Gladiolus, who were like brothers. She would never get to know Ignis. And as for Noctis, she couldn't find words to describe their relationship… and thinking about a relationship between them made her heart skip a beat. _Get it together, soldier. You don't need a relationship._

Then again, Serah had Snow. Fang had Vanille. She was still alone. With the Nightingales, she wasn't alone. There was always someone who seemed to genuinely care about her nearby. _No, not seemed. They do genuinely care._

Maybe, just this time, Light would let herself indulge in fantasies about what it would be like if she opened her heart to Noctis and stayed with the Nightingales.

Maybe just once, she'll let herself imagine a life with Noctis at her side. She was in her room anyway; no one would be able to see her red face.

~~~Space~~~

"You should talk to someone."

"I'm talking to you," Serah said. She sat beside Snow on a bench in Eden's Central Park, one of his large arms draped over her as she leaned against him. It was a warm day and about as nice as Eden could be. In the sky, the sun still didn't show. However, the clouds were bright and if the sun was up, it would be high in the sky signaling midday.

"You know what I meant," Snow said. He sighed a long, drawn-out sigh.

Serah crossed her arms. Compared to Snow, she was tiny. Especially since, while sitting on the bench, her toes barely touched the ground. Snow sat tall, one foot on the ground, one ankle crossed on his knee. "Why should I?"

She felt Snow's gloved hand rub her arm and shoulder. "I just feel like it would help. I'm your hero, right? But I can't save you from yourself. No matter how much I wish I could."

She looked up at Snow's face, expecting to see his sky blue eyes meet hers. He stared straight across the park. In his expression, she could tell how difficult it was for him to be saying these things. "You've been having real bad dreams, Serah."

She knew that. In her sleep, all of her fears manifested themselves. How many times had she lost Claire in her dreams? And in how many ways? All of them. She knew she woke up screaming and shaking and crying in Snow's arms while he whispered sweet nothings to her, trying to calm her. Snow often fell asleep before Serah fell back asleep. Until she finally did fall into the grasps of her dreams, she listened to his steady breathing and then she wouldn't have nightmares again that night. She wouldn't have dreams either.

"I have?"

"You've always been bad at lying." Snow finally met her eyes. Upon his lips was a soft smile. She loved this side of him, the side that few others saw, but was open to anyone who needed it.

"I don't want to talk to anyone about it."

She felt weak. She always felt weak. Claire wouldn't be going to a counselor if she had been the one to go missing; she would be out looking for her little sister. Even if she wanted to, Serah wasn't strong enough to return the action. How useless.

"Just go once or twice. I know the man, he's great." Snow was almost pleading. "For me?"

Serah groaned and mumbled her words.

"What?"

"I said fine!"

Snow grinned his hero grin. "Thanks baby."

~~~Space~~~

"Snow has told me a bit about you, Miss Farron."

"Please, 'Serah' is fine."

Serah never imagined that she would be sitting on a couch across from a therapist like on those exaggerated television dramas she not-so-secretly secretly loved.

The therapist leaned back in his chair, looking fairly comfortable, with a clipboard on his lap and a pen ready in his hand. "So, Serah, Snow's told me a bit about you, but I still don't know much. Why don't we start with getting to know each other a bit? What's do you like to do in your spare time?"

Serah was a little nervous still. Dr. Katzroy seemed nice enough. His demeanor was fairly relaxed and easy-going. Unlike the television dramas, where the doctor always had a white coat, glasses, and a sleek hairstyle, Dr. Katzroy had an afro and wore simple khaki pants with a forest green button up shirt.

"How about I share first, then?" Dr. Katzroy asked with a lopsided smile. Serah nodded, she mentally scolded herself yet again for being such a weak coward.

"I love spending time with my son. I'd do anything to see his bright smile. Melts my heart."

Serah's interest was piqued. "What's his name?"

"Dajh, he's six."

On Serah's face appeared a bright grin. "I love kids. I want to be a teacher, for elementary school."

Dr. Katzroy shook his head a bit and laughed. "You remind me of my wife. She was a teacher."

"Was? Did she lose her job?"

"If only. Actually, she died a few years back. She ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Ended up being killed during a Jenova attack." Dr. Katzroy tapped his pen against his clipboard a few times.

Serah drooped her head a bit. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I… I'm sorry."

"Relax, kiddo. I know you didn't mean any harm. 'Sides, I still got Dajh. Enough of that though, I'm the therapist here, not you. What's botherin' ya?"

"Well, Snow says I've been having bad dreams," Serah said as she twiddled her thumbs absentmindedly.

"Have you?"

Serah leaned into the back of the couch and tried to find a comfortable position, but none she tried seemed to be. "Yeah, I guess."

"Do you remember these bad dreams?"

Finally, Serah just settled with leaning back and crossing her legs. Not the most comfortable she's ever been, but she attributed it slightly to the fact that she was talking to a stranger about things she didn't even really talk to Snow about. "I wish I didn't."

"Can you share what they're about?"

Serah hesitated for a brief moment. Despite her reluctance to talk to Dr. Katzroy—nothing against him personally—she knew that she might feel a bit better about the things happening around her if she shared them. Besides, doctors can't share information their patients give them, with certain exceptions of course.

"Well," Serah started. "A lot of them are about me losing my sister, Claire."

"What scares you about losing Claire?"

"Everything, Dr. Katzroy. She's always protected me and I can't return that. Besides, I've lost her twice already."

"You can call me 'Sazh', Serah. How did you lose her twice?"

"You know the Nautilus Massacre?" Serah asked?

"Of course."

"Claire was injured during that, pretty badly I think. She was in the hospital for a long time and I remember that I couldn't visit her until months later. Even after those months, she still looked like she'd just walked out of Hell."

Sazh was making notes on his sheet, nodding now and then. "That's very unusual."

"I was too young to know it was unusual at that time."

"Sometimes it's hard for this old man to remember just how old he is," Sazh said with a grin. "But please, continue."

"After we were able to visit her, she stayed in the hospital for maybe a week longer? Anyway, after she got home, she became withdrawn. When I look back now, I notice that our dad paid a lot more attention to me than her from then on. Though, I don't know if that was always true."

"What can you tell me about Claire's relationship with your father?"

"It was tense, at best."

_Serah handed Claire a poorly drawn heart with a proud smile. Claire accepted the picture with a simple thank you. Serah, however, never knew that Claire had folded that paper and placed it in her pillowcase. If she had looked there in the present day, she would still have found it in its place, worn from the number of times it was folded and unfolded._

"What kind of person was your dad, Serah?"

"He was always kind how I remember. I don't know what happened between him and Claire that made him so angry at him."

"I'll never understand how a parent could be mad so long at their child. He could've forgiven her." Sazh shook his head. "That's the first time, what was the second?"

"Claire was in the Guardian Corps and was captured by the Nightingales. She came back for a bit, was responsible for the massacre at Eden's masquerade, then I guess she joined them."

"When in Eden…"

Serah nodded. "When in Eden."

~~~Space~~~

"You want me to infiltrate NORA?"

~~~Space~~~

A/N: It's been awhile, I know. I've lost a lot of motivation for writing this story, and writing in general. That being said, this story may be put on hiatus. I have not yet decided if I will put it on hiatus or not. Those of you who review, thank you very much. Reviews do help me become motivated to write.

In other news, I've found slight motivation playing with a different story. It's another Lightis story, so you may find it posted at some point. I hope you guys aren't sick of me because I do have a lot of story ideas for Lightis, I just need to work on finding my motivation.


	16. Chapter 16

"You want me to infiltrate NORA?"

"Yes, I believe that's what I said," Noctis had an amused smile plastered on his face as he spoke.

Lightning leaned back into the soft cushions of the couch that sat in their living room. Sunlight poured into the room through slightly open cream colored curtains. It didn't escape Light's mind that, maybe in some other world, her and Noctis could be in the same room with the same setting, but not as criminals. Maybe they would have been normal friends. Or even lovers.

_Not now._

"I have everything you'll need. We'll get you set up and send you off for the night."

"Alright."

_What is he planning?_

~~~Space~~~

Yeul and Caius were slowly making amends. They did relatively normal activities together. As they walked down one of Eden's busy streets lined with stores, Caius stopped in front of a small shop that Yeul used to be ecstatic to go to.

"Ice cream?" Caius asked in a tentative voice.

"Okay," Yeul replied.

A bell rang as Caius pushed open the glass door and held it for Yeul. The shop was decorated very simply; a few tables on one side, a counter with the various ice creams on another. The menu was behind the counter for costumers to see prices and house varieties. On the menu, there was a picture of an ice cream cone with a smiling face complete with big eyes. Yeul loved that the most in the store.

"Strawberry and hot fudge as always?" Caius asked.

"That'd be nice."

Caius looked at Yeul with a warm smile. "You haven't changed a bit."

_Have you?_

~~~Space~~~

Fang growled and had to resist her urge to slam her fist on the counter. How many days had it been since that Electra came in and never returned? Fang had so many questions to ask her and so many answers to find and she couldn't have anything if Electra _wasn't there._

The bell signaling the arrival of a patron to NORA's bar rang clearly above the chatter of the bar and laughs from the drunks. More people would start to come since the sun had fallen for the evening. If it had been earlier, Fang would have looked to see who the costumer was. Now, however, she was sick of getting her hopes up only to have them crushed again.

The news stations rarely mentioned Claire's disappearance anymore. Sometimes, they would put her picture on screen, the same serene one with her on a couch with her gunblade, looking proper and elegant, and they would say how she was still missing. Now, they would add that she was likely dead and authorities were searching for a body.

Fang didn't doubt that the search would be called off soon.

_Damn it all, Claire. What are you doing? What are you thinking? If you died..._

"If you died..."

"Excuse me?" said a voice to Fang's right.

"Just talking to myself, sorry," Fang said as she lifted her head and turned to face the poor woman she'd likely confused. She found herself looking into dark brown eyes.

"It's alright, then."

The woman who'd taken a seat at the bar's counter had eyes the color of dark chocolate, bright blonde hair that fell in an uninterrupted cascade to her shoulders, a pale, yet flawless, complexion, and a sweet voice that sounded to Fang like a mix of Vanille's and Serah's voices.

"You're...?"

"I'm Electra," the woman said.

Fang sat straight up in her seat. "You've been gone awhile, huh?"

"Oh yes," Electra started. "I was ill when I first came here. I am much better now."

Fang narrowed her eyes. What the hell was this familiar feeling? Something about Electra felt off and it was pissing Fang off that she couldn't find what. "You had dark hair last time." Was it the hair?

"I felt it needed a change, so I dyed it," Electra said with a small shrug.

_Well, shit. It wasn't the hair anyway. What? What?_

Fang scrutinized every bit of Electra she could see without being obvious. It wasn't until Lebreau offered her a drink and she turned that Fang found something useful.

Right on Electra's neck, there was a part that just didn't match. If Fang hadn't been with the Calvary for a few years and hadn't been familiar with PSICOM technology, she never would've noticed the small chip carefully covered with make-up to hide it.

A VC-voice changer- chip. One of PSICOM's favored spying tools. They're perfect for infiltration missions. And right beside her, Electra had one.

Fang acted more natural having her suspicions partially confirmed. She still didn't know everything she wanted to, but she did know that, for some reason, Electra didn't want her true voice to be heard. Luckily for Electra, the VC chip changes the voice so perfectly that there's no reason to think it's not natural.

Fang and Electra drank beside each other for a bit, neither having alcohol. Fang wanted to be alert and it seemed to her that Electra did as well.

An hour or two passed before either actually talked. "Since you're pretty new, why not come on over to my appartment, Electra?" Fang asked.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Electra said, guarded.

"Oh, don't be a sourpuss," Fang said. "If you're going to join up with NORA, you might as well make some friends here. You'll be mighty miserable if you don't."

"I think that's a great idea, Fang," Lebreau chimed in with a smile. "I didn't know you wanted to join, Electra. I'll give you your drinks on the house tonight, in that case."

Fang noticed the defeat in Electra's face. "I... guess it wouldn't hurt if I went for a few minutes."

_I'll have to thank Lebreau later._

Fang stood, handed money to Lebreau for her drinks, wrapped her arm around Electra's shoulders to ensure she wouldn't make a run for it, and headed to her car, and eventually, her apartment.

_Time to get some answers._

_~~~Space~~~_

A/N: I'm sorry this is short, I'm using a different program and can't see length in pages or word count and there's no spell check either. I'll try to update and finish up this story asap. I find it's easier to update in small chunks.

Please, please review. It's what keeps me going and feedback helps me choose the direction I want to take in the story.


	17. Chapter 17

Fang barely waited for the door to her apartment to be shut before she pinned Electra to the wall adjacent to it. Her hand immediately went to Electra's throat to rip off the VC chip.

"Afraid someone will hear your real voice, huh?" Fang glowered.

Electra showed nothing on her face. No surprise, no anger, no fear. Fang pushed her arm against her more. Electra's face showed a brief discomfort for a moment, then blanked again.

Fang held the chip in front of Electra's face with her free hand. "I know what this is," she said. "I worked in the Calvary. This ensures that nobody's gonna be hearin' your true voice. Why are you in NORA with one? Is there anything else I should know that you're hiding?"

_Talk, damn it._

Electra shrugged, but it was hindered by Fang's arm.

"I don't have that much patience, but I have enough to make sure that you don't go anywhere until I know why you're in NORA with infiltration equipment. If you want to hurt any member, you'll have to go through me first."

For a moment, neither spoke. Fang just glared into a blank face with unreadable eyes.

"I won't hurt any member," Electra finally said.

Fang's eyes widened. That voice, she knew that voice. "You're..."

Fang removed her arm from across Electra and took a step back. "You're Claire..."

"I guess you caught me."

"You've been gone for months, Claire! Everybody's been worried sick! How can you be so calm?"

"I've been through a lot."

"If you don't give me some answers, I'll be sure you go through more," Fang said in a deep voice laced with a growl.

Electra, or Claire, walked to the couch in Fang's apartment and sat herself down. "Would you mind making some coffee, Fang this is going to take awhile. First, however, I need you to promise me something."

"What is it?" Fang asked. The kitchen in her apartment was joined to her living room. It was easy for her to talk to Claire while starting some coffee on the pot.

"Everything that we discuss stays between us. You will still treat me as 'Electra'. You will not mention anything, and I mean _anything_ to _anyone_ who is not you or me. Understand?"

Fang would've made a sarcastic or snide comment, but one look at Claire's face made her hold her tongue. When Claire looked so serious and intense that Fang felt she might be killed on the spot from one glance, she knew she better listen and be serious. "Alright, Claire. I promise."

Claire nodded, seemingly satisfied with Fang's response. "Where should I start?"

Fang came to join Claire on the couch. The hiss of the hot water from the coffee maker sounded in the background. "When you were first captured, what happened?"

Fang was anxious and the fact that Claire decided to take out her colored contacts and remove her wig-taking her sweet time with both-made it even worse. She had so many questions and she was finally getting answers and her best friend was right next to her and alive and she should be happy and she was a bit happy and she felt a bit betrayed and she felt angry and... and... and...

And her mind was going a mile a minute.

Claire leaned back against the light colored couch, seemingly making herself comfortable, and took a deep breath. "The Nightingales took me."

"No shit. I'm pretty sure everyone in Eden knows that Claire."

"They tortured me."

Fang scrutinized Claire's appearance once more. Other than the lack of life in her eyes, there was really no trace of damage that she could see. Sure, her hair was dyed black and she had a bit of make-up on, but nothing really stood out to Fang saying 'Hey, this person's been through some pretty rough shit and here's physical proof!'

Claire must have realized what Fang was thinking. "They refrained from damaging my face, somehow."

"What did they want?"

Claire furrowed her forehead. Fang thought the resulting wrinkles from it added on another 10 years to her age along with those dead eyes. "I... don't think I can really tell you the specifics. They wanted me to join, in short."

"I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and guess that you did?"

Claire nodded.

Fang growled. "You traitor."

"I didn't have a choice, okay Fang?" Fang was taken back. The ferocity in Claire's voice made her feel a bit guilty about her reaction, but to join a criminal organization... they had to have had some damn good leverage against her.

"Why?"

"Haven't you noticed that they aren't normal, Fang?"

"Yeah, they use manadrives. Probably stole them."

"Do you really believe there are so many kinds of manadrives that grant the abilities each member has?"

The coffee had finished brewing, but it went unnoticed by both parties.

"What else would you have me believe, Claire?"

"It's real magic."

Fang looked at Claire for a moment. Somehow the seriousness of her face and statement just made burst into laughter. It had been awhile-before Claire's disappearance- that Fang had laughed so hard and it made her stomach hurt. Just when she calmed a bit, one glance at Claire made her fall into another fit of laughter. The seriousness, and now annoyance, on her face were just too much for the natural huntress.

"That's too good," Fang finally said, wiping a few stray tears from her eyes.

"It wasn't a joke, Fang," Claire said.

"Do you really expect me to believe something like that?" Fang was proud of Claire for gaining a sense of humor, but she sure picked a bad time to utilize it.

Claire stood and spread her arms to either side of her. Within a second, the air crackled with electricity as Claire manipulated bolts of lightning around her arms.

"Is this enough to make you believe? Can a manadrive give you this much control over its element?"

Fang was gaining more questions quicker than answers.

~~~Space~~~

A/N: Two for one night, I guess. Since the sections are smaller, it's a bit easier to get them done quicker.

Please review, it's what keeps me going!


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